Wonderful Wizard Of Nick
by acosta perez jose ramiro
Summary: A remake-fanmake of The Wizard of Oz with Nickelodeon's characters. Lila, from 'Hey, Arnold', plays the role of Dorothy.
1. Little Lost Dog

Hello, everyone. It's cool to be back here with a new story. And, as usual, I have an assistant to help me introduce the story; this time, is... Phoebe, from 'Hey, Arnold!'. (_Konichiwa,_ Ramiro, and again, I appreciate that you selected me to assist you here.) You're welcome, Pheebs, and besides, it's appropriate that you're the one assisting me because, even if this is a crossover, the main series is the one you're coming from. (Indeed.)

(Okay, as Ramiro already mentioned, this story will be a crossover, involving several series, most of them Nicktoons, in a 'Wizard of Oz' setting. As always, Ramiro claims no copyright possession on any of us, and same applies to the original story.) Thanks, Phoebe. Also, about the story, I'm basing it mostly on the original book rather than the movies. (So don't be surprised if you see scenes or situations that hadn't been portrayed in film or some other media, even if Ramiro will surely include references to the movies as well. We'll also display some extra information at the end of each chapter if necessary.)

I think that's all for now. Okay, Phoebe, you can say it now. (Saying. _- clears her throat_ - On with the show!)

**The Wonderful Wizard of Nick.**

(crossover-fanmake by Acosta Perez Jose Ramiro)

**Chapter 1 - Little Lost Dog**

"Come on, Miss Perfect, stop staring at the butterflies. We're playing here."

"Oh, I'm ever so sorry, Helga. Okay, I'm ready now." Lila apologized to Helga and got her attention back on the baseball game the whole class was playing at Gerald Field. Despite Helga still not feeling a lot of sympathy for Lila, due to a certain Football Head's old feelings for her, the Pataki girl often chose the redhead to play on her team, since Lila was a decent player when focusing, and Helga not wanting her to be on Arnold's team.

Said boy was currently getting ready to bat, while Helga directed her teammates from her catcher's position. Harold, as usual, was playing pitcher for her team.

"Okay, Pink Boy, try to do it right this time!" Helga yelled at Harold before smirking at Arnold. "And please, if you hit it, don't send all the players to the infirmary, can you, Arnold-o?"

"Whatever you say, Helga," Arnold rolled his eyes yet smiled at the girl, and once he got his whole attention back to the game, Helga allowed herself to smile and sigh happily for a moment, even if still covering her face so the rest of their classmates wouldn't notice this.

Harold managed to score two strikes on Arnold, but the blonde boy managed to hit the ball on the third try, and sent it out of Gerald Field and over a few houses. Lila offered herself to go find the ball.

Lila had to run a bit now, since the ball had landed much further than she expected. When she finally found it, she sighed; it was right behind a parked car, and under a window with a cracked plant pot; as usual, Arnold was a terrific batter, but his hits tended to break things and/or injure people.

"_At least this time he didn't hurt anyone."_ Lila smiled but then gasped when getting closer to grab the ball, and finally seeing a little white dog, with a large black spot on his back, right next to the car and at short distance from the ball. The canine had a large lump on his head and his eyes were quite dizzy; apparently, this time Arnold got an animal instead of a person. Lila also noticed the street was mostly alone, so this dog was by his own.

"Oh, poor little guy." Lila carried the still unconscious animal and then placed the ball in her dress' pocket before returning to Gerald Field. While walking back, Lila noticed the dog had a collar with a name tag.

"Spunkyâ€¦ nice name." Lila smiled but then frowned a bit. The tag had the dog's name but the address wasn't clear, as it had been erased by time and the dog's activities, so it wouldn't be easy to find his owner. She made a mental note about asking later on the houses close to where she had found Spunky.

Not surprisingly, when Lila arrived and Arnold saw what he had done, he felt quite guilty, and he offered to attend Spunky; even if obviously not a veterinary, Arnold had enough experience attending Abner and the many animals his grandma often took to the boarder house. Helga decided to go with them, since the game was pretty much over by now and, of course, she didn't want Arnold and Lila to be alone; her excuse to be there was that she was good with first aids and could help Arnold at attending Spunky, and _**'We don't need Miss Perfect and Arnold-o to get a guilty conscience and stop playing for good'**_, an excuse most of the class accepted.

"Well, he seems to be better now." Arnold commented while bandaging the now conscious Spunky. "I'm glad the ball didn't hurt him that badly."

"Oh, I'm ever so glad he's okay." Lila, smiling, petted Spunky, who gave her a happy, dumb expression and started licking her hand. "Aw, he's adorable."

"Yeah, probably to compensate for the dummy face," Helga rolled her eyes yet smiled a bit. "Okay, the mutt is fine, so better take him back to his place."

"But we don't know where he lives, Helga." Lila reminded her.

"Well, you can ask on the street you found him, or make flyers or whatever." Helga frowned. "Come on, Lila, you can't expect Arnold-o and I to solve your life."

"Helga, that'sâ€¦" Arnold was gently interrupted by Lila.

"Helga is right, Arnold. I found Spunky so I'm responsible for him until I find the owner." Lila got back to petting the dog. "I think my dad will be ever-so understanding and let me have Spunky at home for a while until I find the owners."

"Well, I was the one who hit Spunky, so please let me give you a hand." Arnold offered.

"Fine, if you two are gonna put your world on hold until you found the mutt's family, I'm better helping too so we can finish with this as soon as possible." Helga groaned a bit but then got a surprised expression at the little smiles Arnold and Lila were giving her. "Hey, I'm not saying this because I wanna help or something, it's just that I don't want our moronic classmates to make me responsible in case you two stop playing."

Lila and Arnold didn't press the issue, as they both knew Helga was a much better person than she showed in public. Lila also knew of the Pataki girl's true feelings for Arnold, and she was actually happy to contribute at Arnold seeing a bit more of Helga's good side, expecting they'd eventually become a couple.

The next couple of days, Lila started searching for Spunky's family; nobody on the nearby streets had seen the dog before, so she had extended the search to other neighborhoods. Arnold and Helga and, by extension, Gerald and Phoebe, had started searching as well, but their luck wasn't any better. Lila, however, remained as optimistic as usual and in fact liked having Spunky around; the only 'but' she could find on the dog was that he seemed to have the canine's equivalent of Attention Deficit Syndrome, and many times wandered away when something got his attention; not to mention he had a tendency to try eating definitely unhealthy stuff, like candy wraps and old tires. Arnold suggested her to get Spunky on a leash, but Lila had some issues about that, fearing she'd hurt Spunky by accident or that he'd try to eat the leash, so most of the time she allowed him to move aside her; luckily, Spunky had a liking for her so most of the time he stayed close to the girl.

After three days of searching, Lila thought that, being a curious, easily distracted dog, it was possible that Spunky's family lived downtown or at some street quite far from her own, so she made another plan; that day, she took the bus to the docks, along with Spunky (luckily, her nice attitude and gentle nature convinced the driver to let her travel with an animal), as it was quite far from her neighborhood but still close enough to get back on foot, so Lila could search and try to find the dog's family while walking back home, and even if it didn't work, she could still stick some flyers on her way back. The girl was so optimistic that day that she didn't notice the storm clouds slowly forming in the sky.

Shortly after arriving to the docks, Lila found Earl, Sheena's uncle, securing his boat.

"Hello, Sir; do you remember me?"

"Oh, right, you're one of Sheena's classmates, right?" Earl looked at the girl and then at Spunky. "Nice pup. He's yours?"

"No, and I'm actually trying to find his owner. Do you know if any of your sailor friends had lost a dog lately?"

"Mmm… no, sorry, not that I know. Anyway, if you're going to search around here, better do it fast, and get back home as soon as you can. The weather's report said that we're getting heavy rain today; in fact,¦ I'm pretty sure it will be quite a storm."

Lila looked up and realized the man was right; she had seen similar clouds more than once from her early childhood in the country, and it wouldn't be too long before it started to rain as much as the old man said. Lila thanked him, and then she and Spunky started a quick search; since now Lila knew she had little time left, she moved in a hurry, and didn't lose time sticking the flyers to any wall or post, knowing the rain would probably ruin them.

"Sorry, Spunky, but I think we must leave...¦" Lila looked down and gasped when not seeing the dog. "Spunky? Spunky, where are you?"

Lila looked around and finally saw Spunky sniffing a garbage can. Lila sighed, knowing the dog would probably try to eat something from it if he hadn't already done it; and a few moments later, Spunky was taking out what seemed to be the remains of a large fish.

"Ugh. That's ever so smelly." Lila cringed at the sight of Spunky chewing the fish, and got second thoughts about Arnold's suggestion of keeping the dog on a leash. Then, when the redhead approached to get the dog, a huge pelican appeared out of nowhere and, obviously trying to get the fish as well, flew away carrying both the Spunky and the fish.

"SPUNKY!" Lila, in fear and surprise, started running after the pelican, hoping she wouldn't miss him, or worse, that the bird decided to drop Spunky from such a large height. "Nnngh… now I know why Helga is ever-so hostile towards birds!"

Meanwhile, Spunky had partially recovered from the shock of being grabbed by the pelican, and started struggling. The huge bird, now getting annoyed at the dog's antics, flied a bit lower, and dropped the dog on a rooftop. Lila, in anguish, started looking for a way to get up there and save Spunky; she also tried to get some help but, due to the impending rain (and Lila was already feeling the first drops on her face) the docks were mostly desert by now.

The building where Spunky had landed gave Lila a very bad feeling. It was a small warehouse, and judging by its general state, it hadn't been used in a long time now. In fact, it was so old and ruined that the walls and rooftop already had several holes on them, most covered with random planks and some old clothes, probably tarp or sailcloth. Lila was now afraid about entering the building, but she knew it was the only way she'd get to the rooftop; the girl found a big enough hole for her, only partially covered with a plank, and got in, gulping a bit when hearing the floor creaking under her feet. However, once she advanced a little more, she realized that, even if the place was in desperate need of a clean-up and several repairs, it was mostly solid, so Lila could walk around without fear of the ceiling falling on her. Still, she knew she had to hurry up; while searching for a stairway, she immediately got slightly envious of Arnold and Helga's courage; they wouldn't be half as afraid as she was now, especially with the very little light inside the warehouse that made harder to find any stairway despite not being a big building. She then jumped in fear when lightning and thunder stroke outside.

"I'm better hurrying up…¦ this storm is going to be ever so heavy… oh, and poor Spunky is still up there, out in the rain and… " Lila's out-loud thinking was interrupted by Spunky's barking. The little dog found his way down through one hole in the rooftop, and then finding an old stairway.

"Spunky, I'm ever so glad you're okay!" Lila hugged the dog and then got thoughtful. "Maybe we'll need to stay here for a while until the storm is over. I didn't even bring my umbrella today."

As Lila said this, the storm worsened, and in a few minutes, it had hurricane-like winds. The girl, hearing the thunderous weather, grabbed Spunky and walked to what seemed to be the strongest, safest spot in the warehouse, away from the walls and with a floor solid enough under her feet. She also found a large, old tent all rolled up, and she and Spunky covered themselves with it, improvising both a cushion and a blanket; even if it was very dusty and smelly, it was still better than waiting on the cold.

"Don't worry, Spunky, we'll be okay… we'll be okay… we'll be...¦"

Both Lila and Spunky yelped when the mighty wind shook the whole warehouse, and then something incredible happened; the construction started trembling, and then, with a mighty, final yank, it got ripped from the base up, the wind lifting it with relative ease as the many clothes covering the warehouse's holes acted as sails, catching the wind and carrying the house up. Luckily, the clothes were very firmly secured, so the warehouse didn't fall down; unfortunately, it also meant it was flying up and away, spinning at impossible speeds.

"_AND I CAN'T EVEN STAND THE MERRY-GO-ROUND!" _ Lila thought in a panic yet unable to move at all due to shock. The girl just hugged Spunky and stayed on her spot, fearing the moment the wind would stop blowing and the warehouse would go down. After a while, the warehouse stopped spinning but it still moved, rocked by the winds, and Lila had to cover her mouth and take deep breaths since her breakfast was at risk of returning with a vengeance.

Time seemed to stop for Lila, as she didn't know if she had been inside the warehouse for a few minutes or hours, before tiredness finally made her fall asleep.

**XXXXXX XXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXX XXXXXXX**

(For those who doesn't know it, Spunky is from 'Rocko's Modern Life', and, in this fanmake, he's obviously playing the role of Toto.)


	2. Stranger in a Strange Land

Chapter 2 - Stranger in a strange land

Many miles away from Hillwood or any other known spot on the maps, a big, imposing woman, dressed with a dark mariachi outfit, played a magical guitar and had fun using it to terrorize the residents of a small town, by playing it to cause a powerful lightning storm. The woman cackled while playing, and the lightning illuminating the sky revealed she was literally on the bones; she was a living skeleton.

"Oh, this is just so fun. I hadn't made any storm this big in ages." The woman thought out-loud. "Heh, maybe I can combine it with a hurricane and use the winds to bring something very big and heavy to crush some house… Mmm... that orphanage down the street looks perfect."

The woman grinned and played with more enthusiasm. After a while, she saw a large, flying object carried by her storm's winds, and then used her guitar to aim at the orphanage she wanted to destroy.

"HAHAHAHAHA..!" The woman then noticed the object's shadow was right over her now and wide opened her eyes. "Oh. I miscalculated." Pause. "This is gonna hurt."

**CRASH!**

The powerful impact woke-up Lila and Spunky; the girl was now more than glad about her idea of using the tent as an improvised bed, as it softened the fall for the dog and herself. The redhead noticed the impact had half-opened the warehouse's door (plus making several new holes and cracks on the walls), so she grabbed Spunky and ran to the door; luckily, the rain outside was over now, as Lila could see sunlight coming through the holes.

When Lila opened the door, however, she was completely shocked at the scene. Wherever the warehouse had landed, it definitely wasn't Hillwood. The houses were considerably smaller, as there seemed to be no tall buildings at all; also, the houses' style was very rural-like, reminding Lila of some old western town. Also, the sky was completely clear now, without a single cloud, something quite weird considering that not more than 5 minutes ago the storm had been powerful enough to carry the warehouse.

"Spunky... I don't think we're in Hillwood anymore."

Not long after she said this, people started walking out of the houses; Lila realized many of them looked Latino-like, and this worried her a bit; the storm was so powerful it carried the warehouse over the south boarder? She just hoped the authorities wouldn't accuse her of being an illegal immigrant.

"Uh, excuse me, but… uh… I… I hope the warehouse didn't hurt anyone but..."

"Didn't hurt anyone?" A large, imposing man, with a big black mustache and an eye-patch pointed at one side of the warehouse. "Your flying house landed on Sartana!"

Lila looked at the spot the man was pointing at, and gasped. She could see the low part of a dress and a pair of very skinny, pale legs (Lila didn't know they were just the bones) wearing silver boots protruding from under the warehouse. For Lila's even bigger shock, the 'legs' turned to dust at that moment, and then disappeared, along with the dress, and leaving just the boots behind.

"Oh, no!" Despite knowing it wasn't really her fault, Lila was horrified at this. "She.¦. the person that was standing there… she's dead..."

"Yes, Sartana of The Dead. And you crushed her!" The man said in a very joyful tone. Then, a blue haired girl, wearing a pair of red goggles on top of her head, spiky bracelets on her wrists, and a short red dress covering a white shirt, shouted in excitement.

"Ding-dong, the Dead is dead!"

The whole crowd started cheering and dancing in happiness. Lila was now in shock, but then she started crying and actually got a bit mad.

"How can you be ever-so-happy? A person is dead! It was a tragedy!"

The villagers noticed this and cooled down a bit. The large man approached Lila again, this time in a calmed, comforting tone.

"I see that you must be a good witch, not just because of your power, but also because you respect life. I can see why you feel bad over your actions, but you saved all of us from this very evil witch that had been abusing her power for a very long time."

"Besides, she was already dead." The blue haired gal added.

"Witch? B-but I am no..." Lila, very confused by now, tried to get a proper explanation but then the crowd looked up and cheered again. When Lila did it, she gasped when seeing a beautiful, tanned, brown long-haired, silver-masked woman flying over them; she was wearing a bright silver outfit, fitting enough to show a very pretty body, plus a red cape, a large silver sombrero, and a bulky, black and silver glove on her right hand. She landed graciously right next to Lila and grinned.

"Uh… eh… hello… Mrs..." Lila stuttered a bit.

"Plata Peligrosa!" The woman said in a loud, proud tone, with the villagers cheering again. "So, Sartana is gone for good, Chief Suarez?"

"Yes; she's under this house... well, the dust of her bones, at least." The large man answered.

Lila wide opened her eyes and Spunky yipped when this Plata Peligrosa woman lifted the warehouse over her head with her ungloved hand. Then, everyone could see the remains of Sartana's guitar; Plata then pointed at the remains with her glove, and, a moment later, an energy blast emerged from her fingertips, vaporizing what was left of the instrument.

"There. Now, she'll not be able to reform." Plata put the warehouse back on the ground and then looked back at Lila. "Thanks for the help. I've been trying to get rid of Sartana for years now, but my offensive powers only work for one hour a day, and fighting her always took me a lot more than that. Heh, crushing her with a house; why didn't think about that before?"

"Mrs Peligrosa… uh… eh… can you tell me where am I? This definitely isn't Hillwood, or the USA." Lila finally managed to talk again.

The imposing woman softened her features and nodded at Lila before removing her glove; almost instantly, her outfit was replaced by a white dress with red and green lines, and her overall body language and expression changed from a boisterous warrior to a warm, sweet housewife's. Lila was now starting to realize why the villagers thought she was a witch; apparently, wherever she was, magic was very real.

"I see you and I need to talk. First of all, the proper introductions; my name is Maria, The Good Witch of The North, and you have landed in Miracle City, on the Eastern Side of this country we call Nick." The woman said to Lila, who now bowed respectfully at her.

"Glad to meet you, Mrs Maria. My name is Lila Sawyer, from Hillwood, in the United States of America, and he's Spunky." Lila petted the dog. "And, excuse my ignorance, but, how far are we from my country?"

"You need a good explanation; it's a fact." Maria then produced a book out of nowhere with 'Good Explanations' written on the cover. The woman turned at the rest of the villagers. "You people start repairing the damages Sartana caused with her storm… and prepare the celebration you're obviously anxious to start."

"I'm that obvious?" The blue haired girl was now wearing a party hat and holding a pair of balloons. Before Lila could ask if she was a witch too, Maria took her back into the warehouse, with Spunky right behind them.

"Mmm... this place needs a clean-up; it's a fact." Maria, again, produced a book, this one with 'Places That Need a Clean-Up' on the cover; she then opened it, and what Lila could only describe as a magical mist emerged from the inside. When Maria closed the book, the warehouse was almost perfectly repaired (except for some minor damages on the entrance door) and decorated like a small country house, including a table with chairs in the middle, and a tea set and pastries on top of the table.

"You're…¦ okay I need to sit down..." Lila took some deep breaths and sat on one chair. Maria did the same, sitting at the opposite side of the table, and served some tea for them both.

"Now, Lila, you seem to be very surprised by magic to be a witch, so I'm guessing you are a normal girl who got possession of some magical item, like a flying house, but I doubt this place had any magic at all before I entered so, care to elaborate?" Maria's nice tone and the tea's relaxing effect comforted Lila, who started explaining everything as they continued drinking tea and eating pastries (that looked too much like Mexican churros for a country that wasn't supposed to be even close to America); once Lila finished, Maria got a thoughtful expression.

"Okay, Lila, guess I see the problem here. Our country, Nick, is separated by the rest of the world by both physical barriers, namely a very big, hostile desert that surrounds our country, and magical ones, so we're mostly a secret for the whole world. Once in a while, a bit of our magic can get past the barriers , which explains why, in your world, people can see magical, unexplained phenomena once in a while, and why, at times, stuff from your world appears here at random, especially when very powerful magic is involved, like the storm Sartana summoned; very ironic, don't you think? She brought the instrument of her own destruction; it's a fact." Maria's next book was, obviously, 'Ironic Instruments of Destruction'.

"Well, I'm sorry about her… destruction… but I'm ever so relieved to know it wasn't my fault. Anyway… if you are a witch too, can you please send me back home?" Lila asked but got discouraged at Maria's suddenly thoughtful and slightly apologetic expression.

"Sorry, Lila, as I told you, the magic that takes you in and out of this land works mostly at random. Unless you have a power object with specifically oriented magic to take you where you want, or know an extremely precise spell, you can't use magic to leave Nick. I have my own magic, of course, but it's mostly for low-scale spells, or to summon the books from my personal library, that help me perform some magic and research for information; and my personal power object, The Power Glove, only helps me turn myself into Plata Peligrosa, and that's mostly for fighting purposes; I can try carrying you out of Nick by flight, but if it takes more than one hour, something I'm afraid it's the case, we'd be left stranded in the middle of the desert until I can use the glove again the next day, and that can be dangerous. It's a fact."

Cue the 'Desert is Dangerous' book.

"And our technology isn't as advanced as in your world, so we have no flying machines or some other vehicle you can use… In fact, only the witches and a few scholars here know about those machines, precisely because of the random objects and information we get from your world once in a while. "

"So… I'm stranded here… forever?" Lila got a tearful face now. Maria produced a paper tissue for her, something the redhead thanked while washing up her tears. Spunky, who had been eating churros most of the time, got a bit sad as well, mostly at Lila's saddening mood.

"I think there might be a chance." Maria mentioned, getting Lila's attention. "You see, originally, there were 4 witches in this land; two of them, including myself, are good ones, and this building crushed Sartana, so there's only one evil witch left; I don't have the spells or the information to get you back home, and obviously I wouldn't advice to go ask the remaining evil witch. And that leaves you two options; going South, to visit the remaining good witch to see if she knows a way to get you back, or go with our main magical authority. The Wizard of Nick."

Cue 'The Wizard of Nick' book.

"The wizard… and he's a good person?" Lila asked, suddenly starting to feel hopeful again.

"He's very secretive. Most of the time, only his inner circle has contact with him… but I know he's a good ruler, and a powerful magician; he fell from the skies several years ago, so he most surely knows about the outer world and it's very possible he knows ways to get you back home. You can find him in Emerald City, right in the middle of Nick." Maria smiled as she stood up; Lila followed after her as the woman opened the warehouse's door and lead the redhead outside, where the villagers were now finishing decorating town for the party. "The journey is a bit long and can be dangerous, and sadly, I can't go with you, but I'll provide you with some assistance."

Maria then kissed Lila's forehead. The redhead smiled at the motherly gesture, and then felt a light heat on her forehead, right where Maria kissed her. Some villagers, who saw this, smiled and cheered when seeing Lila's forehead that now had a little glowing mark that remained there for a few moments before disappearing.

"That's my blessing. You'll find it will open many doors for you; it's a fact."

Cue 'Maria's Blessing Kiss' book.

"Now, you need food and water for your journey." Maria used her magic again to produce a basket for Lila, who thankfully accepted it. "Mmm... and you can use new shoes too. No offense but your boots might need some repairing now, and you can't wear them in a long walk."

"Hey, how about Sartana's shoes? They didn't disappear along with her." The blue haired gal approached, holding the dead witch's shoes.

"Uh… thanks, but I don't think they're my size..." Lila was interrupted by Maria.

"Good idea, Frida." Maria made a magical gesture and Lila got her shoes replaced by Sartana's. "Those are magical shoes. I'm not sure of all their capacities, but one of their characteristics is that they adapt to the wearer's feet. One recommendation; never, ever, take them off your feet except when you go to sleep or bath, and keep them somewhere safe when you do that. After all, they're magical shoes and someone might try to steal them if getting the chance."

Lila noticed the good witch was right, and the shoes, besides looking good, were quite comfortable. Lila, again, thanked Maria and the villagers for their attentions.

"Now, some last minute recommendations." Maria got a tone that reminded Lila of a mother orienting her kid before the first day of school. "Remember this is a magical land, so you might find things that aren't normal at all in the outside world; and, witch or not, you already got a reputation with your arrival, and news run quite fast at any place, so don't be surprised if others still consider you a witch; in fact, it works better for you if they do; between my blessing and the 'witch' reputation, you'll be respected by most people you'll find in your journey…'most', not 'all', so you still have to be careful. And don't be surprised if some animals or even inanimate objects are capable of talking to you; it is part of this land's magic, and also why you can understand our language just like we can talk yours."

"Yes, I was wondering why a place that's supposedly ever-so isolated from the rest of the world has people talking perfect English. Thanks again, Mrs Maria.. and… uh.. one last question; how do I get to Emerald City?"

Maria was about to explain when Frida walked in front of her.

"Ah, it's easy. Just…" The blue haired gal started singing, _"__**Follow the yellow brick road… Follow the yellow brick road… **_Hey, this is catchy... _**follow the yellow brick road..."**_

Many villagers were chorusing with Frida now as they lead Lila to the town's outsides, and the redhead saw a long yellow brick road extending to the distance. She thanked them one last time, and left to Emerald City, followed by Spunky, while the villagers continued singing.

**X-X-X-X-XX-X-X-X**

(In the original book, there are 2 good witches, and the witch that welcomes Dorothy to Oz, in this case, is portrayed by Maria Rivera; she, as well as all the characters introduced in this chapter, are from 'El Tigre, The Adventures of Manny Rivera', playing the roles of the Munchkins and, in Sartana's case, The Evil Witch of The East.)


	3. Journey's Companions

Chapter 3 - Journey's companions.

As Lila and Spunky continued walking, she noticed the outsides of Miracle City seemed to be a mostly rural area, since she saw several small farms and extensive crops fields, mostly corn and wheat. Lila smiled at the familiar images, as she used to live in a similar place before moving to Hillwood. As the journey continued, Lila saw some farmers waving and smiling at her, many of them also thanking her for getting rid of Sartana. The redhead smiled back and made no efforts of correcting them; as Maria have told her, the 'witch killer' reputation, even if something Lila personally disliked a lot, was a good protection for her, since, even if the people seemed to be mostly friendly and harmless, she was still a lonely girl in a strange land with no other companion than a little dog, and this reputation would give her some respect and protection against potentially hostile people.

"Mmm... so this is why Helga is ever so insisting on keeping up her bully facade. Nobody wants to hurt you if they think you can hurt them back." Lila said to Spunky, who just barked in reply while sniffing the grass and random plants he found alongside the brick road.

Lila stopped walking after a couple of hours, sitting on a fence around a corn field. The girl looked around and found nothing but lots of corn, and a scarecrow in the middle of the field; this scarecrow was too similar to a little boy, with a very big head and bright blue eyes. Lila giggled a bit; whoever made this scarecrow didn't do a good job at making it scary at all. In fact, it was a lot closer to a real life size toy than to a scarecrow.

"Oh, well, at least he's not going to scare us while we eat, right, Spunky?" Lila smiled down at the dog, who gave her his usual goofy smile. Lila opened her basket and realized that Maria had used some of her magic on it, and not just to make it appear; the basket was much bigger on the inside, and had much more food and water than Lila expected while still being relatively light.

"Mmm... well, Mrs Maria said it would be a long journey, so we might need food and water for a few days." Lila chuckled while choosing something for her and Spunky to eat. "Tacos... tamales... tortillas... stuff that doesn't start with a T... My, it seems one of Maria's books is a Mexican food's one."

"What's a book?"

"Oh, you know, like a notebook, but..." Lila stopped talking and gulped. "Wait... you didn't talk, right, Spunky?"

Spunky barked back at her.

"Okaaaay... there's anyone around here?" Lila looked around. "If you are trying to scare me, it's not nice to do that."

"Oh, I scared you? Sorry; I know I'm supposed to be scary, but you're not a crow."

Lila finally realized that the one talking to her was the scarecrow, who was now looking at her and even giving her a little apologetic smile.

"Y-you... talked..." Lila paled a bit. She then remembered that Maria told her about how, in this land, some usually inanimate objects were capable of talking. "This land's scarecrows can talk?"

"Well... I can talk. I don't know about the other scarecrows. I might be the only one... but then again, I have no way to know that, or anything else. You see, I'm brainless."

"That's not a nice thing to say about yourself. Nobody is totally brainless..."

"I mean it literally, and don't ask me how I know the word." The scarecrow sighed. "I'm nothing but old clothes and straw with a boy-like shape. I have absolutely no brains inside this big head of mine."

"If you have no brains, how can you talk?"

"Told you, no idea myself... but then again, some people talk a lot without having too much of a brain." The scarecrow shrugged a bit.

"Again, not a very nice thing to say... but guess I can't judge you since nobody is here to educate you." Lila sighed as she got past the fence, with Spunky close behind, and approached the scarecrow. "Does it hurt to be, you know... hanging from that pole all day long?"

"Not really. I'm nothing but clothes and straw, so I can't feel any pain, but it gets boring after a while. I learned to talk from hearing all the farmers that walk around here at several points of the day; guess that's also why I know the meaning of some words... But you're the first person I talk with."

"Why so? You don't like the farmers?" Lila asked while Spunky sniffed around, and then dashed towards the corn's plants, barking and yapping loudly. A few moments later, several crows emerged from the field, flying away in a panic.

"Even that little dog can scare the crows better than me." The scarecrow sighed. "And this is why I don't talk to the farmers; I don't want them to realize I am alive and that I'm not doing my job; a non-living scarecrow that can't scare crows, well, you can't blame him for failing, but a living one, that knows he should be scary and that to scare is his job..."

"Oh, I'm ever so sorry. It must be very frustrating to be forced to do a job you don't like or aren't that good at it." Lila felt quite bad for the scarecrow, and now wanted to help him in some way. "Mmm... well... if you don't do a good job here, maybe you should leave this field. You can't get down the pole?"

"No... but..." The scarecrow paused. "You know, I hadn't really thought about that. It's a good idea... of course, without a brain, I couldn't think about it. Uh... you think you can..."

"Sure, no problem." Lila smiled and then helped the scarecrow get down the pole. Now that he was on the ground, Lila saw he was a bit shorter than herself, but the head was notably larger; if he have had a brain, Lila knew he'd look like a big-brained genius.

"Ah. Thanks. It feels good to finally be able to... whoa!" The scarecrow almost fell down but Lila grabbed him. "Thanks again... this is the first time I get to walk... I've seen how people do it, but it's not the same as doing it yourself."

"As with everything else." Lila helped him walk out of the corn field, and then she and Spunky started eating, while the scarecrow used the fence for support while learning how to properly use his legs.

"You want some?" Lila offered him a 'torta', a Mexican sandwich made with a special bread.

"Oh, no, thanks. I don't eat or drink; I have no stomach in here." The scarecrow pointed at his belly. "And it's a good thing, because my mouth is just painted over the clothing or sack the farmers used to make my head; if I needed to eat, I'd need to make a hole for my mouth, and that would ruin my head's shape."

Lila nodded, realizing all the problems the scarecrow had due to his special condition, while taking a sip of water.

"It must be hard to be human... or animal... you need to eat... and drink... and I heard you also need to sleep, right?" The scarecrow commented while sighing again. "Then again... having a brain must be worth all those needs."

"Yes, it does; and most of the time, we enjoy doing these things." Lila replied. "So... what can you tell me about your life?"

"Not that much. Just that I got made a few days ago; luckily, the farmers made my head, ears, eyes and all, before doing my body, so I'd been seeing and hearing everything that happens around me even before I was properly finished. Anyway, I got placed on that pole you found me so I could scare the crows away, and it worked at first, but..."

_- FLASHBACK -_

The scene shows a smirking scarecrow on top of the pole, looking at the crows keeping their distance from him. He's notably proud for doing a good job.

At that moment, a dark-haired, pale girl in black clothing approached the field, and, grinning, took some of the corn, pretty much stealing all the crop she could carry.

"This will be delicious with some butter." The girl smirked and then looked at the crows. "Don't be silly; that dummy isn't alive. He can't stop you."

The crows realized that the girl was taking all the corn she wanted without problems, and a moment later the whole flock started feasting. The scarecrow, still silent, didn't move at all, but his expression changed to pure sadness, as the crows realized he was completely harmless and he couldn't do his job.

The girl looked at the scarecrow and chuckled a bit; she didn't notice he was alive, or that his expression had changed to a sorrowful one, but she still felt like teasing him.

"Poor straw-filled fool. Too bad you're a brainless dummy; if you had a brain, you'd be able to think about a way to stop the crows, or at least you'd be trying to resist. Oh, well, not my fault. See you... hanging around." The girl chuckled a bit and left, with the crows still eating and making the scarecrow to start doing something he never did before; thinking.

- _END FLASHBACK -_

"That girl was ever so rude." Lila frowned.

"Maybe, but that doesn't mean she wasn't right. If I have had a brain, I'd have used my smarts to come up with a plan... or at least I'd have insulted or yelled at the crows to scare them away." The scarecrow looked down. "Since then, the one thing I've wanted the most is to have a brain; to be capable of thinking... to be like a real boy. I don't mind not being able of eating, drinking or all the other things humans do, but I'd love to have a brain."

"I see why. My teacher back at home, Mister Simmons, always tells us about the importance of studying and learning, and how a proper education can be our best way to have a bright future, or at least, to have much more options." Lila agreed with her new friend. "Mmm... you know, I'm going to Emerald City right now, to meet the Wizard of Nick."

"What's a wizard? Or an emerald? Or... Nick?" The scarecrow gave her a puzzled look. Lila then gave him a quick summary of how she had arrived to this land, plus properly introducing herself, and how she was counting on the wizard's help to get back home.

"So, the wizards and witches do things that are impossible for anyone else..." The scarecrow rubbed his chin. "You think he can give me a brain?"

"That sounds more like Doctor Frankenstein's work, but..." Lila thought out loud. "If he can return me home, he might have the powers to give you a brain."

"Oh, that's excellent! Then, can I go with you?" The scarecrow jumped in happiness, now much more used to his legs and how they worked.

"Of course. Besides, even if Spunky is a very nice travel companion, I wouldn't mind having another friend coming with me." Lila smiled at him.

"Okay then, let's go to see the wizard!" The scarecrow beamed and soon the trio started walking through the yellow brick road. After a while, Lila realized something.

"I'm very rude. I hadn't asked your name." Lila said to her new companion.

"Well... I don't have a name. At least, I don't remember if I have one. Even if I have one, well, without a brain, I can't know it." The scarecrow admitted.

"Oh. Okay... I think you need a name. It's not nice to call you just 'Scarecrow' all the time, even if you're this land's only talking, living scarecrow. It would be like you calling me 'Girl' or 'Human' all the time." Lila then got slightly thoughtful. "Mmm... okay, tell me which of these names you like better; George, Jack, Steve, Aaron, Forrest, James..."

"James... Mmm..." The scarecrow pondered about the last one. "I... think I like how it sounds..."

"For a more 'familiar' way to use that name, we can call you 'Jimmy'. That's how you call a kid called James, or a very close friend called James."

"Jimmy... Jimmy. I like it. Short. Easy to remember. Kinda funny... Yeah, it works." The scarecrow chuckled a bit. "Whoa, I got a friend, a name, and a goal in life, all the same day. Thanks, Lila."

"You're welcome." The redhead giggled at her friend's enthusiasm as they continued walking.

After a while of walking, Lila, Jimmy and Spunky stopped seeing farms at all, and they followed the road through a very thick, dark forest; the trees were so big and with so much foliage they blocked most of the sunlight. It didn't work that it was getting late and the sun was setting down. Luckily, it seemed Jimmy could see quite well in the dark, apparently a benefit of whatever paint used by the farmers to paint his eyes, so he could guide Lila through the forest without getting out of the road.

"I see something in the distance... out of the road. Looks like a house or cabin or whatever." Jimmy told her. "Wanna make a stop there?"

"Yes, I'd like that. Even if you see quite well in the dark, I'm still delaying you, and it must be hard for you guide me when before today you hadn't walked even once." Lila said, very thankful for finding this house; with some luck, whoever lived here would allow them to take a break and spend the night in a safe place.

Lila, Jimmy and Spunky walked out of the road, and the redhead knocked the cabin's door... that opened by its own. Obviously, whoever lived here didn't close it.

When the group entered, Lila found an old lantern and set it on; Jimmy backed off a bit, since, being made of nothing but old clothes and straw, his non-feeling-pain body would be quite vulnerable to fire. Lila illuminated the cabin, and got a bit surprised when finding lots of metal, wires and cables, plus assorted tools. Also, there was a thick dust layer on top of everything, meaning nobody had lived here for a long time.

"What place is this?" Jimmy asked, very curious. "Do all human houses look like this on the inside?"

"No... I think that whoever lived here was a blacksmith, or someone who worked with metals." Lila deduced while holding some bolts. "Mrs Maria said technology wasn't too advanced in this land but that some people got to learn from my world because of stuff that appears randomly.. The persons that lived here probably got some high-tech stuff or an engineering book, and they tried using what they learned from it."

"Okay... how come I don't have a brain and yet I managed to more-or-less understand what you're talking about?" Jimmy asked a shrugging Lila.

"Well, we had been talking all day long since I found you, and it seems you're a good listener and paid attention to all the things I've told you about my world and what Mrs Maria told me... Guess you're good at remembering things; and yes, I know, you have no brain, but you're also a talking scarecrow."

"Good point." Jimmy shrugged while he and Lila continued looking around the house. Spunky then found an old bed and jumped on it, getting himself comfortable despite being as dirty as everything else; Lila, with some help from Jimmy, cleaned it up, and after she and Spunky ate some dinner, they fell asleep on the bed; Jimmy, who, as he claimed, never felt sleepy, spent the rest of the night looking around the house, quite curious about all the notes, tools and metal parts, keeping himself occupied while waiting for the sunrise... mostly by learning how to read the notes and get what they meant. Luckily, he found a book called 'Reading for Dummies' and after a few hours he got the basics since, after all, he was pretty much a straw dummy.

The next morning, after Lila and Spunky had breakfast, and Jimmy put all the stuff he handled through the night back on its place ("It wouldn't be polite if the owner returns home and see an even bigger mess", as Lila said), the group got back to the yellow brick road. After walking for a while, they spotted something a few yards away from the main road; behind some bushes and partially covered by vines, there was a metallic statue, the size and shape of a human female.

"Oh, look. Wonder who made this statue." Lila commented at Jimmy as they walked out of the road to get a closer look. "It looks ever so realistic."

"Yeah... but wonder why it's here, where nobody can normally see it. At least I was in the middle of a cornfield where farmers and crows could see me." Jimmy added as they walked around the statue to get all the details. "And the pose... is kinda weird. At least, I guess it's weird."

Lila realized Jimmy was right; this metallic woman was in a running pose, with one of her hands extended as if trying to grab something. Lila looked at the direction the hand was directed, and saw an oil can next to a tree; like the statue, this oil can was partially covered in dust and vines. Lila looked back at the statue, and, on a better look, realized that the limbs seemed to be jointed/articulated, like some sort of huge action figure.

Spunky started sniffing the statue's legs, obviously thinking about 'marking his territory', when the dog jumped back, apparently surprised by something.

"What happened, Spunky?" Lila asked the dog, and when moving her head closer to the statue's head, the redhead could hear something similar to a moan. "What was that?"

"This... statue... is moaning?" Jimmy got a bit closer too, and touched the statue's back; then, he touched the neck, and, realizing it was jointed too, moved it slightly. After doing it a few times, the statue, surprisingly, started moving its eyes. And then, with evident effort, the mouth moved too, creaking a bit when doing it.

"O... oil..."

"Whoa. This statue is alive... and look who's saying it." Jimmy said, a bit surprised but soon realizing he wasn't exactly conventional as well.

"Yes... this is a metal girl." Lila gasped and looked back at the oil can. "And she wants oil!"

The redhead grabbed the oil can, and then poured a bit of oil on the statue's metallic jaws.

"Ah... much... better... Thanks. " The metal girl finally could start talking clearly. "Please... you have to oil the rest of my joints... so I can move again."

Lila and Jimmy started doing as the girl said, plus removing the vines and random leaves covering the girl's body. Lila applied the oil while Jimmy helped the metal girl move her limbs after they got oiled, so the lubrication was more effective. Soon, the metal girl was moving with ease; despite her moves being heavier-looking than a normal human's, this didn't seem to affect her.

"Oh, thanks a lot! I had been stuck for almost a whole year... More precisely, 246 days." The girl grinned in happiness and relief.

"You counted them?" Lila asked.

"I couldn't move. You can't do a lot of things to keep yourself occupied in that situation." The girl then got both Jimmy and Lila in a very tight hug. "And thanks again for helping me! Oh, and my name is Jenny. Glad to meet you."

"Name... is... Lila... ever so... glad... to meet you..."

"And I'm Jimmy... and Lila is human and she needs to breath!"

"Oh, sorry." A very sheepish Jenny released the pair. "It had been so long since I had been around people that I forgot to watch my own strength."

"It's fine... no problem." Lila replied while rubbing her arms. "But... what happened to you?"

"Oh, I was just out, doing my work, as usual... I'm a woodsman, or woods girl, by the way..." Jenny then surprised Jimmy and Lila when one of her hands morphed into an axe. "Anyway, I usually kept my body well lubricated, and had an extra can of oil before leaving home every morning... but 246 days ago, I forgot to do it, and, lucky me, that day it rained. I was working over there..." Jenny pointed at the remains of a fallen tree, "and by the time I realized I had dropped my emergency oil can somewhere, and found it, it was too late for me; the rain rusted me so quickly I got stuck like a statue, and since almost nobody uses this road, and I couldn't call for help, I've been here since then."

"That's ever so awful. Your family must be worried about you." Lila's words made Jenny got a sad expression.

"I have no family. You see, my mother was an inventor; she was one of the first persons trying to develop technology here in Nick. It took her several years and prototypes, but she finally got successful enough to create an artificial person... Yours truly." Jenny smiled a bit before getting back to sadness. "Sadly, she didn't finish with all my parts... You see, I have no heart."

"Well, don't feel bad, I mean, I have no brain, or heart... I'm nothing but straw on the inside." Jimmy tried cheering her up.

"Maybe, but you're a scarecrow, and you move and live through magic. I'm a person, or a wannabe person, and I can't be a full human if I don't have a heart, and feelings. The expressions and mood changes? Those are things I learned from spending time with my mom, so I can mimic the emotions, and maybe I have enough circuits to 'feel' to a certain extent, but I don't have feelings of my own. And with my mom... no longer around us... nobody in this land can finish her work and give me a heart, or whatever works as a heart for someone like me."

Lila, who had lost her own mother a very long time ago, immediately sympathized with the metal girl. She then got an idea and got a happy face.

"Jimmy and I are going to Emerald City to visit the Wizard of Nick; we're gonna ask him to, please, use his magic to help us with some special problems; I want to get back home, at another, very far away land, and Jimmy wants to get a brain." Lila commented to Jenny, while Jimmy nodded in agreement plus understanding what Lila wanted to do. "Maybe he can give you a heart too."

"You think he can?" Jenny rubbed her chin. "Mmm... my mom barely talked about the wizard... then again, we lived very far away from Emerald City, and she wanted to do things through science instead of magical powers. But I think you're right; without my mom, the only way I might be able to get a heart is if by using magic. Okay, let's get back to my place, that I hope it's still standing, to get some stuff I need, and I'll be more than glad to go with you guys. And thanks for inviting me."

"Oh, you're ever so welcome. The more, the merrier." Lila smiled.

"Yes, and besides, Lila and I don't know the forest as well as you, so your experience will be more than welcome." Jimmy added; he obviously was happy for having Jenny in the group and giving her a chance to fulfill her wish but he also saw the practical aspects. "Oh, and Lila and I spent the night at a cabin not far from here. I'm guessing that's your house. It was a bit dirty but yeah, still standing."

Jenny, relieved by these news, grabbed the oil can, and the group walked back to the house. Jenny walked to the center of the cabin and then, surprising Jimmy and Lila, she lifted a large trap door they hadn't found the previous night... and they wouldn't have been able to open it if they had found it, as it was obviously extremely heavy.

"How strong are you?" Lila asked Jenny as the metallic girl walked down a small stairway under the trap door.

"My mom wanted to make me as strong as a million and seventy men, but science, in this land, isn't advanced enough to make me that powerful... luckily, she still made me much stronger than the average human, plus my metallic parts give me a few extra advantages. However, I still need some stuff, like oil and these." Jenny emerged holding several oil cans and some little packages that Lila recognized as batteries. "One of this can power me up for several months. I just need to put them on the sun so they get charged up."

"Your mother's brain was quite smart." Jimmy complimented the girl. "Too bad she's no longer around... besides knowing her, I'd have asked her to make me a brain, or something that works like a brain, like she did with you."

Jenny just nodded at him and, despite her claims of being heartless, Lila realized she really looked sad when her mother was mentioned. Lila then brightened the mood by offering Jenny to carry her oil cans and batteries in her magical basket, as it would be much easier to carry them. Jenny thanked Lila and offered to carry the basket herself for the rest of the journey. Jenny gave herself another quick lubrication before leaving the house, and a few minutes later they were back on the road.

The group walked uneventfully for the rest of the morning, and they took a break a little after noon. Even if Jimmy and Jenny didn't get tired, Lila and Spunky needed to eat, drink water and rest, plus the sun was heating Jenny's body a bit too much, and she needed to spend some time under the trees' shadow to cool down, as she didn't want to burn Lila, Spunky or (especially) Jimmy if she suddenly became too hot to touch.

"So... you always have to give in order to get?" Jimmy asked suddenly, surprising both girls.

"What do you mean?" Lila asked him.

"Well, you and Spunky have both heart and brain, and that's very good, but you both have to drink, rest and eat in order to live... and Jenny is too strong and has a brain of sorts, but her body needs special care too." Jimmy explained. "I just... uh..."

"Wonder." Jenny finished the phrase for him.

"Yeah, thanks. I just wonder, if I get a brain, I'll need to give up some of my advantages? Maybe I'll need to start sleeping, so my brain can rest... or maybe my brain will need food, and then I'll need to eat... Don't take me wrong, I really want to have a brain, but it's a very big step for me and I have to... consider... everything." Jimmy said, a bit too puzzled as how much he seemed to think despite having no brain.

"Well, I think you will be very smart when you get a brain; you are already trying to have thoughts and ideas, so guess you only need a brain to put them to work." Jenny told him. "As for me, I can't wait to have a heart, and now how it feels to... feel."

"And I think you can ask the wizard to give you the brain and the heart without messing up with your bodies so you can still have your advantages." Lila commented to them both. "I like being human, but I admit I feel a bit... vulnerable next to you both. Jimmy's body feels no pain, and yours, Jenny, is very strong and hard to damage. Spunky and I are the weak ones in this group."

"Oh, don't feel bad. You know we can protect you." Jimmy said while pointing at Jenny and himself. He then paused and pointed just at Jenny. "Okay, mostly Jenny can protect you, but I can help too."

"Gee, thanks." Jenny rolled her eyes. "Still, it's a good point. This part of the forest has many wild animals, like lions, tigers and bears."

"Oh, my..." Lila gulped a bit. "Lions, tigers, and bears... l-l-lion..."

"You already said 'Lions', Lila." Jimmy corrected her while Jenny noticed the redhead had suddenly paled and looking at something behind them. Jenny turned back and a moment later she was tackled by a furry, fast feline figure. Jimmy jumped back and, when trying to help her, he got hit by the animal's paw; being a scarecrow, Jimmy's light body felt no pain but the impact threw him several feet away.

Lila yelped in fear while Jenny stood up but then got knocked down again by the lion... who immediately started shaking his paw; obviously, it wasn't a nice experience to hit a metallic girl. Lila now could give him a good look; this lion was walking on his back legs, and his mane was a bright red tone, plus his face seemed to be semi-humanoid, even having several freckles. Also, his eyes seemed to be a bit too small, and the animal wasn't much bigger than an average teenager. However, he still was attacking with all the strength and speed of a wild animal, and Lila feared he'd now attack her.

Spunky started barking at the lion, who looked down at him, and then roared at full volume, scaring the little dog. Lila, feeling herself very protective when seeing this, took a deep breath, and thought '_What would Helga do?_', the answer was obvious.

"You, big furry bully, stay away from him!" Lila snapped at the lion and, surprising herself, slapped him. Lila was very surprised when realizing she was capable of doing something like this, and even more shocked when the lion backed off and then jumped up a nearby tree. Jenny and Jimmy looked up at the lion and back at Lila, very surprised themselves.

"Either you are a very hard slapper, or this lion's face is very sensitive." Jenny finally got her voice back.

"You didn't need to slap me that hard!"

"Okay, it was the second one." Jimmy said as he got back on his feet, and he and the rest of the group realized this lion could talk; his voice was a bit too nasal, similar to a boy with a congested nose.

"Oh... I... I am ever so sorry..." Lila started apologizing to the lion. "B-but you started it! You tried to hurt us, and you almost ate Spunky!"

"I only wanted to scare you guys away! And... you speak like a little girl..." The lion was now giving them a curious look, squinting his eyes.

"I'm a little girl!"

The lion then took a pair of purple framed glasses out of nowhere and put them on.

"Excuse me for a moment; I don't like wearing my glasses when I go all 'furryous'; they make me look like a geek."

"That, I can agree with him." Jenny whispered at Jimmy while Lila was trying to figure out where did this lion take the glasses out from, and also how did he get them on first place.

The lion, now wearing his glasses, looked at the group and groaned before facepalming.

"Great. I did it again." The lion now looked very apologetic. "Sorry... I... I thought you guys were hunters, or soldiers, or whatever... that pup looked like a huge hunting dog... and I thought you..." The lion then looked at Jenny, "you looked like a huge guy wearing a battle armor; that's why I tackled you, because I thought you'd be too big and tough to scare you away just by roaring."

"I might not be that big but I'm tough." Jenny frowned. "Wanna get down to see how tough I can be?"

"I... I think I'm gonna stay here for some time... the rest of my life sounds good enough." The lion gulped before closing his eyes and hugging the tree's log.

"Well, you can't just attack or scare people away just because you feel like doing it!" Jenny was now visibly upset. "And get down here because, I might have no heart but I still can feel ridiculous by doing this; I feel as if I were talking to the tree!"

"Uh... you can leave your message and I'm telling the tree later in case he can't reply now." The lion, still with closed eyes, gulped and tightened his hold. "B-besides... I... I can't climb down!"

"I know the feeling." Jimmy groaned. "Maybe this isn't the smartest decision, but... we can help you down if you want."

"You are getting me down? Are you a scarecrow or a firefighter?"

"_Mmm... sarcasm... aggression.._." Lila was now having a very familiar feeling.

"Oh, come on, get down! What are you, a lion or a scaredy cat?" Jenny snapped.

"Uh... Meow."

Jenny, now tired of this argument, extended her arms long enough to grab the lion's tail; she then started pulling him, but the lion's grip was pretty strong and resisted quite well.. in fact, resisted a lot more than the tree, and after a few minutes, the lion was down, falling on top of Jenny and still holding a good chunk of the log between his hands/paws.

"Heh... sorry..." The lion chuckled nervously at the robotic girl.

"Get. Off." Jenny frowned, making the lion to jump down. The feline gulped and, very nervously, grabbed his own tail and started twisting it slightly, similar to how an embarrassed/scared kid would do with his shirt.

"You don't seem to be a bad guy. In fact... it actually seems you're afraid." Lila said to him. "But... lions are supposed to be brave, isn't it?"

"Yeah... but... I'm the exception; as if being near-sighted wasn't enough." The lion groaned a bit. "I've always been a coward; ever since I was a cub. I have dozens, if not hundreds of phobias; sometimes I get so scared I think I'm gonna have a heart attack."

"Great; 'think' and 'heart' in the same sentence." Jimmy rolled his eyes at Jenny.

"I'm serious; I fear a lot of things; I have Acrophobia, Claustrophobia, Arachnophobia... I even have... have... " The lion was now struggling to say the next word. "Hi... Hip..."

"Hippophobia? You're afraid of hippos?" Lila asked him.

"No.. well, yes, I'm afraid of hippos, but 'Hippophobia' is 'fear of horses' and I have it too. But what I wanted to say is that I have..." The lion took a deep breath. "Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia!"

The lion almost fainted after saying that word.

"Whoa. What's that?" Jenny asked.

"Fear of long words."

Even Spunky was now giving the lion a silent stare.

"Yeah, I know, I'm pathetic." The lion groaned again. "I'm also afraid of the dark... not the best thing when you're a feline, I mean, I'm supposed to like the night!"

"I'd suggest you to get a psychiatrist but I doubt you have any of those medics here." Lila said, feeling very sorry for the lion.

"And besides, I fear any kind of medic." The lion added.

"But if you have so many fears, then why you attacked us?" Jimmy asked.

"Because... Uh... well..." The lion looked down but Lila got the reason instantly.

"Because you have a reputation; you're a lion, so you are supposed to be tough and brave. You attack others so others don't realize you're afraid of them."

The lion gave Lila a surprised look, showing she was totally right.

"How did you..."

"Oh, a friend back at home is very tough and rough, but she's also a very good person... but she's so afraid of people rejecting or hurting her that she acts tougher than she should so nobody gets close enough to find out." Lila explained him; once again, Lila was suddenly very grateful for knowing Helga.

"Yeah... that's pretty much my case. Usually, I just roar and the other animals run away from me, thinking I'm a tough, brave predator... but when a larger animal, like a tiger, bear or whatever appears, I try to hide so they don't see me and try challenging me, because then I'd need to run away. That's also why I attacked you guys; I was trying to be tough and scary so people would say 'Hey, I got attacked by a powerful lion' instead of 'A little girl slapped a lion and he ran away like a wimp'."

"I know how you feel... one of the few things I know, actually." Jimmy sighed. "I am a scarecrow, and the reason the farmers made me was precisely to be scary, at least to crows; and trust me, I did a terrible job. At least you're very strong and you can give the impression of being tough and brave."

"Maybe, but it's not the same as actually being brave." The lion added. "I'd love to be like the other lions; to be... brave, and tough, and... to have a 'lionheart'."

"I'd like having any heart." Jenny, now as sympathetic towards the lion as the rest of the group, tried comforting him. "Don't feel so bad; you have it better than us, I mean, you have brains, heart, and you live here at the forest, your home. Jimmy, the scarecrow here, wants a brain; our friend Lila is lost, very far away from her home; and I want a heart, to have real feelings."

"Oh. Too bad those things aren't for sale, uh?" The lion half-joked, feeling a bit more comfortable now.

"No, but we're going to Emerald City to see if the Wizard of Nick can grant us those wishes." Lila told him. "Maybe you can come with us too; that way, it's possible that the wizard can give you Courage."

"A wi-wizard? As in... magic powers, scary presence, big dark castle kind of wizard?" The lion paled. "I... I don't know... I... appreciate the invitation, but... uh... t-that sounds a bit too much for me. Even if this person wasn't a wizard, you are talking about going to a city, full of people, and buildings, and... You know I also have Anthropophobia; fear of people?"

"Well, I'm people, and Jimmy is a straw person, and Jenny a metal one, and you don't fear us... or do you?" Lila asked him.

"Uh... you're kinda nice... but you are a small group; I kinda can handle that... but I also have Enochlophobia; fear of crowds." The lion sighed. "I can't do this."

"Mmm... but... you're probably afraid of being a coward, right?" Jimmy asked, making the lion to get a thinking expression.

"Phobophobia... you know... yeah, I have that fear too." The lion said after a few moments. "And I also have Monophobia... that's fear of being alone. And if I can't control my fears..."

"Then you'll be afraid, and alone, for the rest of your life." Lila cringed when saying this out loud. "Okay, I'm not the one with lots of phobias, and even I got afraid when saying that."

"So... I have to... find a way to cure myself..." The lion gulped. "Maybe you guys are right, and I have to go see the wizard... even if that scares me... so he can give me courage."

"So, in other words, you need to face your fears to get courage, but you're gonna need courage to face your fears?" Jenny arched an eyebrow (or whatever she had as an eyebrow) at this irony.

"Why do you think I hadn't been able to solve this issue so far?" The lion sighed. "Well... if you don't mind having a tagalong lion, I'll gladly (even if scaredely) accept your invitation."

"Okay then, welcome to the group." Lila smiled at him, easing the lion's fears a bit. "You already heard our names, but you haven't introduced yourself."

"Oh, my name is Charles, but, since I was a cub, everyone calls me 'Chuckie'. You know... 'Chuckie Chicken'." The lion rolled his eyes . "Just call me 'Chuckie' without the 'Chicken' and I'll be fine. Chuck is okay too."

"Alright, Chuckie, then, let's go to see the wizard." Lila said, and soon the whole group, now with a new feline member, got back to walking through the yellow brick road.

Once Chuckie felt a bit more confident, he and the others started talking so they could get to know each other, making the journey much more comfortable, to the point they barely realized when the night fell and the group had to camp until the next morning, this time with Lila's magical basket providing enough food not just for her and Spunky but for Chuckie as well, and when they went to sleep, both Jimmy and Jenny spent the rest of the night watching over their sleeping companions, the scarecrow using this chance to talk with Jenny and continue educating himself; even if he was brainless, he could still do something to keep himself occupied, and, after almost a whole year as a rusty statue, Jenny was more than glad to spend the whole night talking.

**X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X**

**(**As you already realized, Lila's companions in this journey are Jimmy Neutron, from 'Jimmy Neutron, Boy Genius', Jennifer 'Jenny' Wakeman aka XJ9, from 'My Life as a Teenage Robot', and Chuckie Finster, from 'Rugrats' and 'All Grown Up', playing the roles of The Scarecrow, The Tin Woodsman, and The Cowardly Lion, respectively. Also, as a side note, the Tin Woodsman's origin, in the original book, is definitely not family-friendly, so we changed it a bit to spare our readers of all the gruesome details, and in fact it has influence from The Muppets' filmic version of this story. Finally, the girl that steals the corn in Jimmy's flashback is Zoe Aves, aka Black Cuervo, from 'El Tigre, The Adventures of Manny Rivera'; in Spanish, 'Cuervo' stands for both 'Crow' and 'Raven', and she takes the role of the Chief Crow from the flock that mocks the Scarecrow in the original book.)


	4. A Dangerous Road

Chapter 4 - **A Dangerous Road**

The next morning, the group started moving quite early, as they all wanted to arrive at Emerald City as fast as possible, not to mention getting out of the forest would make it a much safer journey. Despite the group including a metallic girl and a lion (cowardly or not, he'd still scare away most animals), they were the first ones to admit the forest could be dangerous due to some outlaws and wild beasts.

"Sorry I'm eating this much, Lila." Chuckie said to the girl as he ate a few churros. "I usually live on bugs and plants because I fear going to hunt, plus I don't like hurting the other animals unless I have no other choice. This is the most I've eaten in weeks."

"Oh, it's fine, Chuckie. I'm ever so glad you are enjoying it. Mrs Maria gave me quite a good gift." Lila replied while pointing at her basket. Besides her generous nature, always willing to share a snack with friend, Lila was also glad she had this basket since, even if Chuckie was cowardly and friendly, she felt much safer next to a well-fed lion than to a hungry one.

"My mom liked eating too. She was mostly vegetarian because she didn't like hurting animals herself." Jenny said while doing a little jump to avoid stepping on a bug. "I also try not to hurt anyone unless it's self defense; since I have no heart, I have to be especially careful to avoid being cruel or insensitive without realizing it."

Jimmy had been silent most of the time; the scarecrow was mostly enjoying his companions' chat, and looking around the road as they continued walking. Since, before this journey, he was the one with the most secluded, isolated life, plus knowing close to nothing about the outside world, he was very eager to learn everything he could.

"_Then, when the wizard gives me a brain, I'll know what to do with the information I'm getting."_ Jimmy had the closest thing he had to an inner thought.

After walking for a few hours, the group finally seemed to get out of the forest... but instead, they just found the road suddenly stopping because of a cliff.

"Hey, what happened? This can't be Emerald City." Jenny exclaimed.

"Look, the road continues over there." Jimmy pointed ahead, and everyone noticed that this cliff was part of a chasm, with the road continuing on the other side.

"Guess that, since almost nobody uses the road, nobody thought about making a bridge... or there was a bridge, and fell down a long time ago and nobody noticed." Lila sighed sadly while looking at the chasm. The distance between both cliffs was at least 25 feet long, too much to cover with a jump, and the chasm seemed to be quite deep.

"Mmm... we'll need to look for another way to get past the other side." Jenny groaned while looking around, trying to find a way to cross, without any luck. "But that will take us very far from the road... and we can get lost."

"But we can't jump this distance. It's too much for any person." Lila pointed out.

"Well... not everyone here is a 'person'." Chuckie said in a meek tone. The others looked back at him.

"Hey... you're right. You are a lion; and lions can jump a very long distance." Jenny said, remembering how Chuckie had jumped up to a very high tree branch when they first met.

"Y-yes... and now I regret making you remember it." Chuckie gulped while looking back at the chasm. "May I remind you I have Acrophobia? Fear of heights? Especially quite high, dangerous ones?"

"But if you don't help us get past this obstacle, we might need days to find a way to cross." Jimmy reminded him. "Think (you are lucky enough to do it) about this; what scares you the most; the heights or being afraid for life?"

"Option three; falling... or more precisely, the sudden stop." Chuckie took a deep breath. "B-but you are right... I no longer can think just about myself... I'm part of a group and I have to do my part... Well, okay… I'll jump this, and take you the other side, one at a time."

"Good... so, how are we choosing who's going first?" Lila asked, now holding Spunky.

"Mmm... whoever takes out the longest straw?" Jenny shrugged.

"Good idea; I'm the one with the straw, so I'll go first." Jimmy, obviously taking the expression literally, pointed at himself, and before Jenny could explain him, he turned at Chuckie. "My body is nothing but straw and clothes, so I'm not that heavy; also, if I fall down, the 'sudden stop' will not kill me, unlike Lila or Spunky, and my body will not get dented, like Jenny's."

The others couldn't deny this logic, and Chuckie allowed Jimmy to get on his back. The lion then stood on four and walked to the edge of the chasm, looking at the other side and doing his best to not look down.

"You aren't going to... run and take impulse before jumping?" Lila asked Chuckie.

"No; this is how we lions do this thing." Chuckie explained her, and then, before getting (even more) afraid, Chuckie made a spectacular jump over the chasm, with Jimmy holding himself from the lion's mane and shoulders. The jump worked perfectly, with the lion landing safely the other side, and Lila and Jenny cheering at the duo.

"Hey, you're right. You weigh pretty much nothing." Chuckie, visibly relaxed, said to Jimmy as the scarecrow climbed down.

"Yes, there are advantages of being a scarecrow." Jimmy chuckled a bit before Chuckie jumped back with the girls and Spunky.

The next ones to ride on Chuckie were Lila and Spunky; the girl was holding the dog with one arm while using the other to hold on Chuckie's mane, while the lion held the food basket on his teeth. Lila weighed a bit more than Jimmy but still it was an easy jump for Chuckie.

The last 'passenger' was the real problem, since Jenny's body was much heavier than the average human's. Chuckie actually took a few minutes to rest after he returned from leaving Lila and Spunky the other side of the chasm, knowing he'd need all his strength to jump while carrying the metal girl.

"Okay... you think you can do it?" Jenny asked the lion, now getting a bit worried herself.

"Right now, I wish I was the brainless one so I wouldn't think at all." Chuckie gulped a bit, as Jenny's weight made him doubtful about this last jump. "I... think I know how to do this jump... but I'm gonna hate the method."

"What's Jenny doing?" Lila asked, noticing the metal girl was morphing one of her hands.

"She's changing her finger into a... needle?" Jimmy got a puzzled expression, as Jenny did exactly that while Chuckie took a deep breath.

A moment later, Jenny stuck Chuckie's butt with her needle finger.

"**YEEEEEOW!" **Chuckie jumped over the chasm as if Jenny weighted nothing... and Jimmy, Spunky and Lila had to move aside, since his landing was far from graceful.

"Oh, my... Chuckie, Jenny, are you two okay?" Lila asked them as she and Jimmy helped their friends to stand up. Jenny stood first and then helped the others with Chuckie, the lion rubbing his butt with one hand/paw while rubbing his ribs with the other.

"Not dented at all... so yes, I'm okay." Jenny said while checking her own body. "Chuckie, are you okay?"

"Don't worry… as another lion said… I knew the job was dangerous when I took it. And it seems I broke nothing… that was the last jump, right?" Chuckie looked at his nodding companions. "Great. I can faint now. Please, wake me up later."

Right after saying this, Chuckie fainted. The others, after checking him and realizing he was pretty much okay, allowed him to sleep for a while to recover from both the effort of facing one of his fears multiple times (in this case, a very justified fear) and from doing so many jumps in such a short time.

Once Chuckie woke up, and Lila gave him a drink of tea to help him relax, the group went back to walking, and again, they got into a forest area. The lion, despite feeling a bit better now, was still in a visibly shaken state.

"Relax, Chuckie, we left that chasm a while ago." Lila tried comforting him. "No need to be afraid now."

"I... Sorry, Lila, but I'm now a bit nervous because I think this is the part of the forest where El Oso lives."

"Who's El Oso?" Jimmy asked the lion.

"He's a large, violent, mean man that dresses up with a bear's skin. He often attacks small villages and people he finds on the roads." Chuckie gulped. "He's supposed to be very strong... he probably has strong enough legs to jump that chasm we passed without any effort, so he can go back and forth from this part of the forest to anywhere else he wants. No surprise here, I'm kinda afraid of him."

"Nobody's blaming you; he sounds like an ever-so mean person." Lila was now getting a bit worried too.

"Then, we better keep moving before we find that guy or any other danger..." Jimmy said as they finally got out of the forest again, but then the whole group froze on the spot.

"You. Have. To. Be. Kidding. Me." Chuckie exclaimed when seeing another chasm in front of them; a much bigger one. "Before anyone proposes it... I REALLY know I can't jump this one! I'm a lion, not a kangaroo on steroids!"

Again, the group started looking for options to cross the other side. Jenny proposed climbing down the chasm and then climb up the other side, but it seemed to be extremely dangerous, plus only Jenny and Chuckie were strong enough for that, and, of course, the lion was a bit too scared to even think about it.

Jimmy walked out of the road and then saw a large tree right at the edge of the chasm; it was quite old and apparently already dead since it had no leaves and most of the branches had already fallen/broken down. The scarecrow looked back and forth between the tree and the other side, and then got a little smile.

"Hey, guys, look at this. If Jenny takes this tree down, we can use it as a bridge."

"That's a great idea, Jimmy! You might have no brain, but you have the smartest straw I've ever seen." Lila complimented the scarecrow while Jenny looked at the tree and then knocked the log a couple of times.

"Yes... this has the right length, and the log is resistant enough... Okay, stand back." Jenny grinned while morphing her right hand into an axe, and started chopping the tree.

"Good thing your mom made you a woodsman... I mean, woodsgirl." Chuckie said to the metal girl.

"She wanted to show everyone how technology can be useful for heavy works, so she gave me the knowledge and 'tools' for this job." Jenny said while still chopping. The rest of the group moved a few steps back so they wouldn't get hurt by the splinters that jumped every time Jenny hit the tree; Jimmy, who wouldn't get hurt anyway, returned to Jenny's side when realizing it, to get a better look on how she worked.

As Jenny said, this tree was very resistant, so, even with her strength, it was taking her some time to take it down, plus she had to cut it the right way so it would fall following a straight line; otherwise, it would fall down the chasm and the plan would be ruined. After 10 minutes of continuous chopping, her job was almost done.

"Well, at least this time we'll cross in a somehow safe way." Lila pointed out before looking back at the chasm. "Unless we look down, of course."

"Please... don't say that." Chuckie gulped a bit. "I'm already having second thoughts about this plan... one slip, and El Oso would be the smallest of our concerns."

"Hey, I'm not exactly small, Mang!"

The group turned back at the forest, and Lila and Chuckie gulped, while Jenny and Jimmy got alert stances and Spunky cowered behind Lila's legs, when a huge figure emerged. A huge, muscular, black-bearded, long-nosed man with a thick brown mustache; he was covered in tan bear fur, with black tuffs on his arms, a bear hat with teeth covering his head, a skull necklace, claws on his hands and feet, and a metallic like belt similar to the cuffs on his arms.

"El Oso, right?" Jimmy said to Chuckie, the lion now shaking in fear while nodding.

"Jenny, I hate to... pressure you... but... you think you can work a bit faster?" Lila gulped and looked back at the robotic girl. Jenny was ready to battle El Oso but Jimmy stopped her.

"Lila is right. You have to finish taking down the tree. Maybe we can discuss this with El Oso so he doesn't attack us." The scarecrow told Jenny, who nodded and got back to working, this time even faster. El Oso, however, didn't seem too eager on having a conversation.

"Heh, discussing this with me? But this is already settled down, Mang; you guys give me all your values, and I'll only beat you up half-as-much as I'd beat you if you don't give me a thing." The huge man started approaching the group. Lila was now holding Spunky, and sweating more than a bit; now he was getting closer, Lila could see how big he really was; next to El Oso, Big Bob Pataki (Helga's huge father) would look like a midget.

"I'll try to distract him. You guys help Jenny with the tree." Chuckie whispered at Lila and Jimmy while stepping ahead of them. As afraid as he was, Chuckie was aware he still was a lion, and El Oso would take him more seriously than the others. Lila and Jimmy nodded and they went next to Jenny, ready to help her the moment she needed it.

Chuckie extended his claws and roared at El Oso. Years of being intimidated and pretend to be intimidating himself had made the lion quite an expert when it came to roaring to scare away potential foes, and today wasn't the exception. El Oso actually walked a few steps back.

"N-now... You, stay back! If you try to hurt us, I'll tear you apart!" Chuckie growled at the villain. "And don't think I can't! Just this morning, I beat up an elephant!"

"An elephant, uh? Guess I'll need some help then, Mang." El Oso growled loudly, and a moment later, several bears started appearing from behind the trees and bushes. Chuckie paled at the sight.

"Eh... well... maybe it wasn't an elephant... Would you believe me... a rhino?"

The bears got closer.

"A panther?"

El Oso cracked his knuckles.

"A beaver with a bad attitude?"

All the bears growled at once.

"**JENNY!" **Chuckie dashed back to his friends, now with the bears charging at him.

"It's done!" Jenny said to Jimmy and Lila. "Now, a good push and... Chuckie, watch out for the..."

**WHAM!**

"... Ow... tree." Jenny, Jimmy and Lila cringed after a very scared Chuckie collided with the tree. Luckily, the impact was hard enough to finish the job, and the tree fell over the chasm, reaching the other side without problems.

"Jenny, you go first, and start chopping the other side!" Jimmy, now seeing the bears approaching, said to Jenny, who nodded and ran over the improvised bridge while Lila made Chuckie to react, as he ended quite stunned after the impact.

"Chuckie, wake up! El Oso is coming!"

"El Oso... is... coming..." Chuckie, still dizzy, finally reacted when seeing El Oso about to grab Lila from behind. "EL OSO IS COMING!"

"And you are..." El Oso extended his hands to grab the girl but then Chuckie, surprising everyone, jumped over Lila and gave El Oso's nose a very painful bite. "ARGH, MANG!"

The surprise made El Oso to fall over his back, and on top of some of his bears while making the others to back off a bit, as they were equally surprised. Jimmy and Lila used this chance to start walking over the 'bridge', Lila holding Spunky and Jimmy holding her basket. However, being no circus stars, Jimmy and Lila soon had to start crawling to conserve their balance.

"Chuckie, grab them!" Jenny, who had finally arrived at the other side and had started cutting the tree's log, yelled at the lion, who was still on top of El Oso. Chuckie then grabbed the man's bear hat and pulled it over his eyes, blinding him for the time being; then, after giving the bears a second look, and noticing they were about to charge again, the lion dashed at top speed on the fallen tree, grabbing Lila, Jimmy and Spunky on his way to the other side.

"Whoa. You're more a cheetah than a lion!" Jenny said, impressed, as Chuckie and his 'passengers' arrived at the other side.

"Fear is a great motivator!" Chuckie put his friends down and panted, obviously tired and shocked. Jenny then went back to chopping the tree while El Oso, quite furious by now, climbed on the fallen tree to follow after his potential victims.

"Nobody is gonna make a fool out of me, Mang!" El Oso moved much faster than a normal human, and in a few moments, he was almost the other side. He only stopped to turn back and call his bears. "Come on, guys, get over here! It's safe!"

The bears, however, shook their heads and cringed a bit. El Oso, puzzled, looked back at Jenny, and realized the log was now half-way chopped... and then started cracking under his weight.

"Seems that you aren't smarter than the average bear." Jenny smirked a bit and morphed her axe into a large hammer. El Oso gulped and started pleading.

"No... wait... Mang, have a heart!"

"Wrong girl to say that." Jenny lifted her hammer and hit the log at full force. The tree started shaking and cracking, and El Oso just gulped and waved bye before the 'bridge' finally broke and he fell down with it.

"**AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH... MANG... AAAAAAARGH...!"**

**CRASH!**

"Ow... I'm gonna have nightmares with that." Lila couldn't help but feel bad for El Oso despite him being an enemy. Jimmy walked to the edge of the chasm and looked down.

"I... guess... yes, I see him..." Jimmy then yelled loudly. **"Hey, Sir, are you alive?"**

The group then heard a painful reply.

"I'm okaaaaay..." Then, a pause and a loud crack. "ARGH! I LIED, MANG!"

The whole group cringed at this, just like the bears the other side of the chasm. The bears then looked at their attempted victims and, realizing they were now out of their reach, and that their 'leader' wouldn't be in 'leading conditions' for some time, they went back to the forest.

"We better leave now." Jimmy suggested while turning back at the yellow brick road, that was just a few dozen yards from where they crossed the chasm. "Luckily, we aren't that far."

"Yes, good idea; I hope El Oso gets better... even if he wasn't exactly nice." Lila said before turning at Chuckie, smiling kindly at the lion. "And thanks for saving Jimmy, Spunky and I, Chuckie."

"Heh... you're welcome. Guess there are some advantages on being a coward; running quite fast comes to mind." The lion chuckled a bit.

"Wish I had a mind things would come fast to." Jimmy rolled his eyes as the group returned to the road.

Chuckie spent the next hour eating the snacks Lila gave him from the basket as the group continued walking, as this helped him calm down his nerves after facing his fears so many times this morning; especially considering one of those fears was a huge, murderous guy in bear suit. Jimmy and Jenny noticed Lila and Spunky had started tiring down from walking as well, so offered to help them a bit; Jenny carried Lila piggy-back style while Jimmy held the basket and Chuckie carried Spunky, so the girl and the dog could rest without stopping the group. After a while, the forest started disappearing and it got replaced by a prairie, with small and disperse groups of trees and some little hills instead of the dense woods they had been since they got all together.

"Well, now we have open terrain ahead." Jenny commented. "I guess now nothing can't catch us by surprise."

After the group walked around a small hill that the road partially surrounded, they all froze in shock.

"Surprise." Jenny groaned while gently placing Lila down. The hill covered the view to a certain extent, so the group didn't notice the next obstacle until it was right ahead; a very wide river. As it had happened with the chasms, the road continued on the other side.

"You know, if I didn't want to be brave as much as I want to, my wish for the wizard would be to get this road fixed." Chuckie shook his head while facepalming.

The group started looking around, trying to find any way to cross the river. Unfortunately for them, water, specially moving, deep water, was a very big problem for them all; Jenny, obviously, would get rusty and/or sink down if trying to cross; Jimmy's light straw body would get carried away; Spunky was too small to swim such a big distance; Lila had never learned how to swim; and, of course, Chuckie had Hydrophobia, fear of water.

Jimmy looked up at the little hill they had just passed by and grinned a bit when seeing the many small trees on top. Maybe they were too small to use as a bridge, but even a brainless scarecrow knows that wood floats.

"We can use those logs to float the other side of the river." Jimmy proposed. Jenny looked at the trees and beamed.

"Even better, I can make a raft with them. This might take a while but it's not a problem for me." Jenny changed both her hands into axes and went up to the hill to start chopping down the necessary trees.

As it had happened with the improvised bridge they used on the second chasm, Jenny did most of the work, but her friends helped a lot this time. Chuckie was strong enough to help her carry the logs downhill, as they couldn't risk just rolling them down since it was very close to the river and some of the logs would fall in it; and once they had all the logs they needed, Lila and Jimmy helped Jenny to make up the raft while Chuckie and Spunky took a nap; Lila explained Jimmy and Jenny that cats and dogs usually sleep a lot more than humans, and surely Chuckie and Spunky needed a break by now.

A couple hours later, the raft was finished, big and strong enough to carry the whole group. Lila and Jimmy also got some long sticks that they could use to move the raft. The redhead girl, the scarecrow and Spunky got on the raft while Jenny and Chuckie pushed it to the river; then, to distribute the weight, the metal girl and the lion placed themselves on opposite sides of the raft while the others would remain in the middle.

"Okay, we're ready now. Push." Jenny said to her companions as they started pushing with the sticks, and soon the raft was moving and crossing the river without problems.

Unfortunately, by the time they were right in the middle of the river, where the current was much stronger, two floating logs appeared out of nowhere, and hit the raft at full force. This took the passengers off balance, and Jenny almost fell to the water; Jimmy and Lila had to hold on her for a moment until Chuckie reacted and grabbed the metal girl himself so nobody would fall, but this accident made them to lose their sticks, and now the raft was getting carried away by the river, and far away from the yellow brick road.

"Oh, no!" Jimmy gulped, realizing the magnitude of their problem. "What are we gonna do now?"

"First... yelling in fear." Chuckie cleared his throat. "**AAAAAAAAAH!"**

"Chuckie, get a hold on yourself!" Jenny shook the lion a bit; the last thing they needed was a panicking wild beast on the raft.

"Better get a hold on the raft!" Lila gasped, pointing at the distance. "Rapids ahead!"

The rest of the group realized the girl was right, and they immediately got a hold on both the raft and themselves, so the powerful, roaring water didn't make them fall to the river. Spunky almost fell twice until Lila could get a good hold on him, while Jimmy got a good hold on the girl. After several minutes that seemed to be hours, the water calmed down a bit, but it still was very fast, and the group no longer could see the yellow brick road, both due to the distance and the small hills and large rocks at both sides of the river.

"Now I wish I didn't need to eat... because I think I'm gonna lose my lunch..." Lila covered her mouth, hoping her stomach would cooperate with her.

"A brilliant plan!" Jimmy exclaimed, and the others looked at him.

"**Yes?"**

"No, that's what we need; a brilliant plan."

"Jimmy, do that again, and you'll get a bath." Jenny frowned at the scarecrow. It wasn't necessary to be a genius to realize the girl wasn't kidding.

"This is ever so awful... how I wish I could swim." Lila lamented while she started 'rowing' by using her hands, trying to be useful. Unfortunately, this made little difference.

"Yeah, I wish I could swim too." Jenny groaned.

"And wish I didn't fear to swim." Chuckie started helping Lila.

"And wish..." Jimmy paused. "Wait... Chuckie... you **FEAR** to swim... that means, you** CAN** swim?"

"Uh... well... when you have hydrophobia, you fear you'll drown to death someday, so it's better if you know how to swim." Chuckie gulped. "But the most I've ever swum is, you know, a small pond, with a rubber ducky, and less than 2 feet away from the shore."

"Well, right now, you're the only one who can help us. Maybe you can swim out of the river and get help?" Lila said to the lion.

"By the time I get the help, you guys will be the other side of Nick." Chuckie groaned before sighing and shaking his head. "And now I hate myself for the idea I just had."

"Hey, I wish I'd get ideas; if you have one, use it." Jimmy said to his companion and then added, "Unless your idea is to panic again."

"Okay, that will be Plan B. Now... my idea is..."

A couple minutes later, Chuckie was swimming to the shore... and dragging the raft along with him; Jenny got a good hold on his tail and then, changing her other hand into a hook, secured herself to the raft, while Jimmy, Lila and Spunky stayed in the middle, all of them encouraging the lion.

"Just... to make things clear... I'm not... a sea lion..." Chuckie panted, making an obvious effort to drag the raft and beat the river's current.

"Well, I 'see' no other lion around, so right now, you're doing this." Jenny half joked yet it was obvious she was impressed by the lion's strength. "You're doing quite well!"

"Thanks... and... keep... encoura...ging... me... so I don't... remember... the crazy thing I'm doing right now!" Chuckie complained between his panting but he eventually reached the shore. Luckily, they were the side they were trying to get by on first place, but, unfortunately, they were now several miles away from the road.

"Dry... land... never... thought... I'd miss you... this much..." Chuckie dropped himself on the ground, taking very deep breaths, while his companions left the raft and congratulated him. The lion felt happy for being helpful and for having enough courage to beat this particular fear, but he couldn't enjoy it too much since exhaustion made him fall asleep almost immediately.

"Poor Chuckie. You've had an ever so hard day." Lila petted the lion, kneeling in front of him, while Spunky liked his face. Meanwhile, Jenny and Jimmy looked around to see if there were any other obstacle or danger; luckily, this side of the river looked safe enough.

"Well, now we must return to the road. The river carried us a very long distance away." Jenny said but then looked back at the sleeping Chuckie. "Uh... but he's gonna need to rest for a while."

"Well, maybe we can carry him for a while, so he can sleep while we walk. He deserves it." Jimmy shrugged.

A few minutes later, the group had to place Chuckie back on the ground.

"Okay, before you say it was a bad idea... brainless, remember?" Jimmy groaned. His straw body and Lila's muscles didn't have the strength to carry a lion, even a human-sized one like Chuckie; they only managed to move him because Jenny was doing most of the job, and even if she was strong enough to carry the weight, doing it without help would be very uncomfortable for both her and Chuckie. The group decided to wait until Chuckie woke up... something that took the rest of the day, and by the time he did it, it was already too dark. To make up for the lost time, Lila took some coffee from her basket and gave it all to Chuckie, and then they got back to the whole 'carrying Lila and Spunky' idea, so the scarecrow, metal girl and lion could walk the whole night if necessary while the girl and dog slept.

**X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X**

(Now, back to the notes. The scenes in this chapter, as many of you probably realized already, aren't present in most of 'The Wizard' adaptations; we have included them here both for entertainment purposes, to keep up with the original story, and as a chance to show up Lila's companions' different abilities. Also, El Oso, from 'El Tigre, The Adventures of Manny Rivera', and his bears, take the place of the Kalidahs, tiger-bear hybrid monsters from the original story.)

(And for those who know classic cartoons, you probably got Chuckie referencing 'Super Chicken', who had a lion sidekick who 'knew the job was dangerous when he took it'.)


	5. Almost with The Wizard

Chapter 5 -** Almost with the Wizard**

Lila woke up with the first sun rays, and, after thanking Jenny for transporting her, the metal girl gently placed her back on the ground and Spunky, who had woken up a few moments before her, started walking next to the girl's heels.

"Are we still far from the brick road?" Lila asked while Jimmy handled her the basket so she could take her and Spunky's breakfast.

"Sadly, it seems so." Jimmy informed her, the group still walking. "We tried to return in a straight line, but the terrain aside the river is very rocky and kinda dangerous, so we had to surround it. We're still in the right direction to get back to the road, but we aren't sure of how much we'll still need to walk."

Lila sighed and took a sip a milk before looking back, without stopping to walk; as the scarecrow said, there were several small rocky hills all over the place, and surrounding them was much easier than climbing them up but it obviously took a lot more time. Lila, being her usual optimistic self, decided to, at least, enjoy the walk, and certainly, the prairie seemed to be a nice, safe place for a hiking.

As the group continued walking, the grass and other plants were slowly getting replaced by beautiful scarlet flowers with a spicy scent; after a while, they were completely surrounded by these flowers, the group walking through a large meadow full of them.

"These flowers are beautiful. My teacher, Mister Simmons, would love coming here for a field trip... Heh, my friend Sheena would surely make herself a collar with them." Lila giggled a bit.

"They're nice, I guess... luckily, I don't fear flowers." Chuckie chuckled. "Even if these smell a bit weird."

"I like the smell. It would be nice to have some of these flowers in a kitchen." Lila commented, referring to the flowers' spicy scent. Apparently, Spunky agreed with her as the dog sniffed some of the flowers as the group continued walking.

"Mmm... that's another thing I lack. The smell sense." Jenny sighed.

"Yeah, I can't smell a thing either." Jimmy added. "Uh... it's that a bad thing?"

"Depending on the situation; if you find something that smells nicely, yeah, it can be bad." Lila explained him.

"But if you find a skunk... trust me, having no smell is a blessing." Chuckie commented, rolling his eyes and cringing a bit, obviously referring a previous experience.

As the group continued walking, still surrounded by flowers everywhere, Spunky, slowly, stopped moving as much as usual, and in fact started yawning and walking quite slowly. Lila, yawning a bit as well, held him, and after a few more minutes, the dog was completely asleep.

"You need a break so soon? We hadn't walked that much." Jenny said to Lila, noticing the sleeping dog, and how the redhead was looking sleepy as well.

"I... I don't feel... so good..." Lila yawned and almost fell down, but Jimmy caught her.

"Oh, no... does any of you think Lila is sick?" Jimmy asked his other companions. Jenny gave him a puzzled look but then she and Jimmy turned to see Chuckie, who was looking slightly drowsy himself.

"I... I don't get it... Lila and Spunky... shouldn't be like this after walking for such a short time... and... I don't feel... so good myself..." Chuckie yawned before realization hit him. "The flowers... it's the flowers' scent! It's poisonous or something... it makes you sleep if you smell it!"

Jenny and Jimmy gasped at this; they were the only immune ones to the flowers' scent, and therefore the only ones who could do something to solve this problem.

"We have to get the three of you out of here... and away from the flowers!" Jenny grabbed both Lila and Spunky while Jimmy grabbed the basket and gave Chuckie a whole jar of coffee, the lion gulping it down in a few moments.

"Chuckie, you're too big for Jenny and I to carry; you have to get out of here by your own. Run to the road as fast as you can, and wait for us." Jimmy instructed his friend. Chuckie nodded, now partially reanimated by both the coffee and the fear-induced adrenaline.

"Okay... good luck." The lion nodded at the scarecrow and metal girl, and, after giving Lila and Spunky a quick look, he dashed away, heading to the brick road at full speed. Soon, he was out of sight.

Jenny and Jimmy ran as fast as they could, but, even with Jenny's strength, she still was a heavy metallic girl, and Jimmy's straw-filled legs weren't made for a long distance run, so they weren't even close to Chuckie's speed. After almost one hour of running, the duo stopped, finding Chuckie in the middle of the field, soundly sleep.

"How are we gonna help him? We can't leave Chuckie here." Jenny said to Jimmy. The scarecrow gave the lion a sad look and then turned back at Jenny.

"He's strong; he can stand the flowers' toxin much better than Lila or Spunky. We have to get them out of here first; we don't know if his scent can kill them if they smell it for too long. We'll return for Chuckie later, once we decide how to save him."

Jenny agreed with Jimmy, and, after getting sure Chuckie was comfortable enough, they both went back to running. It took them more than half an hour of non-stop running to finally get out of the flowers' field, and then they had to run for a few more minutes until they got far enough to decide it was safe to stop. Luckily, by this point, they could see the yellow brick road and the river they had crossed. Jenny gently dropped Lila and Spunky under a tree's shadow, close to the river's shore, hoping the humid air would help them recover faster from the flowers' poison.

While Lila and Spunky slept, Jimmy and Jenny used this time to try coming up with a plan to save Chuckie; as they discussed their options, Jimmy helped lubricating Jenny's joints, as she had been too close to humidity in the last two days and this was very risky for her.

"Okay... we really need to come up with a brilliant plan now..." Jimmy groaned. "Just our luck that Chuckie is the one who needs to be rescued. He might be a coward but he had been the one rescuing us so far. Not that you don't do a good job at that, Jenny, I mean..."

"Yeah, I know, and I agree with you." Jenny sighed while moving her arms to ensure a proper lubrication. "How are gonna rescue that... cat?"

"Yeah, he's a very big cat, and..."

"No; over there. A cat." Jenny interrupted Jimmy while pointing at a distance. As she said, there was a cat running next to the road; he was a very thin golden-furry tabby, his right eye blue-colored while the left was green. As he ran closer to the scarecrow and metallic girl, it became obvious he was chasing another animal, a little gray mouse.

"Hey, _compadre, _can't we discuss this?" The mouse, with a strong Latino accent, yelled back at the cat.

"Yes, let's discuss it over dinner!" The very hungry cat replied, getting closer to the mouse.

"How I knew you were saying that?" The mouse yelped while dodging the cat's claws.

"That's not fair." Jenny frowned and walked towards the cat and mouse chase after making a quick stop with Lila.

The cat was about to catch the mouse when a metallic foot stomped right ahead of him. The cat looked up at the very angry Jenny.

"So, you're hungry, uh? Then... eat... THIS!"

"Argh, not in the face!" The cat covered in fear but then smelled something and opened his eyes, getting a surprised expression. "A fish taco?"

"Yes, it's obvious you are hungry. Come on, eat it." Jenny said to the cat, who ate the taco immediately. Jenny then took a small paper bag out from Lila's magical basket and handled it to the feline. "Here. Take it, and leave this mouse in peace."

"Yes; peace. Love peace. Much better than 'pieces'." The mouse, who was now protecting himself behind Jenny's legs, agreed with her.

"Oh, yeah, no problem." The cat opened the bag and grinned. "Mmm... chimichangas... Oh, and that's milk? I hit the jackpot."

The very happy cat left the place and Jenny looked down at the mouse.

"You are safe now. He'll not mess up with you, at least for now."

"Lucky me, I found the only girl that carries a Mexican restaurant in her basket." The mouse smiled at her. "Thanks a lot, Miss..."

"Jenny. And he's my friend Jimmy." The metallic girl pointed at the scarecrow. "And you're welcome. You see, I have no heart, literally, so I always try to be nice to others â€¦ with some exceptions... so I don't end being cruel by accident."

"Then, if you had a heart, it would be golden." The mouse chuckled. "Oh, and my name's Pip. Glad to meet you both."

As Pip finished talking, several mice appeared out of nowhere, all of them looked both concerned and relieved.

"Sir, are you okay?" A random mouse asked Pip.

"Yes, luckily, this kind lady saved my neck." Pip then turned back at Jenny. "You see, I'm pretty much the leader of all mice in this land... by democratic election, and hope I can make it good for next period... so, if you ever need any assistance, just go to some open field and yell for help. Some mouse will hear you, and they'll tell me or assist you directly."

"Very kind of you, Pip." Jenny said to the mouse, not willing to offend the little animal by saying it was unlikely she'd ever need the help of such a small critter.

"And... we might take up your offer right now." Jimmy added; Jenny turned at the beaming scarecrow and understood what he meant.

"Yeah... Pip, you think you and your mice can help us save a lion friend."

"Okaaaay... Miss Jenny, I heard 'think', 'your mice', and 'help us', but did you also say 'lion'?" Pip gulped a bit. "As in... a very large, stronger version of the animal that almost made a snack out of me?"

"Don't worry, he's not dangerous, and besides, he's sleeping... that's precisely the problem. Come here." Jimmy said to the mice while leading them to where Lila and Spunky were sleeping, and explained everything to the rodents.

"Whoa; the red flowers? Ugh, those things are dangerous; they put you to sleep faster than my Uncle Gustavo's bedtime stories." Pip scratched his chin. "How did you escape?"

"Jenny and I don't smell." Jimmy explained. Pip sniffed the air.

"Mmm... actually, you do, especially you; really, Scarecrow, you need new clothes." Pip then got serious. "I see your problem, but I don't know how we're gonna move something as big as a lion."

"I can't believe we're moving a lion." Pip, his mouth and nose covered by a piece of clothing, commented to nobody in particular as he and a few hundred of his mice helped Jenny and Jimmy move Chuckie through the scarlet flowers' meadow.

Jimmy and Jenny came up with a simple solution; the mice got a large bed sheet from a farm (they assured the scarecrow and metallic girl that they didn't steal it) and then, after all the mice protected themselves with pieces of clothing that resembled surgery masks, they went with the duo to where the lion was sleeping. Once Jimmy and Jenny rolled him over the sheet, the mice helped them pull it, with Chuckie as an unconscious passenger; the combined force of Jenny, Jimmy, and their many small yet willing assistants was enough to transport the feline out of the field and away from the flowers, and soon he was (still sleeping) safely under the same tree Lila and Spunky had been sleeping. The girl and dog had already recovered and heard the story of how Jenny rescued Pip; to thank the mice for their assistance, Lila gave them some food from the basket, something they all appreciated, especially after carrying a lion for such a long distance.

"Mmm... these are good quesadillas. That Maria witch is quite the cook... remind me to move to her kitchen." Pip half-joked before finishing his food. "Well, we better leave now. No offense, but being this close to a cat, especially such a large one, even if he's sleeping, it's not exactly my idea of a funny time."

"We understand, and thanks again. We're ever so grateful." Lila smiled at the little rodent.

"You're welcome, Miss. Okay, Mice, the last one pays the piper." Pip said to the mice and a moment later they all left, while the group waved bye at them.

To recover faster from the flowers' toxin, Lila washed her face on the river, and, a few hours later, when Chuckie woke up, his friends convinced him to do the same. As much as Chuckie didn't want to get close to the river again, he was thankful for the cold water on his face.

"A lion defeated by flowers... and rescued by mice... Heh, hello, Low Self-Esteem, how had you been?" Chuckie sighed while the group went back to walking on the road.

"Don't feel bad, Chuckie. After all, you already did some very daring deeds yesterday." Jenny tried to cheer him up.

"Yeah... and guess it's a good thing the flowers put me to sleep, because, otherwise, remembering all those things would give me nightmares." Chuckie rolled his eyes and gently rejected a new jar of coffee Lila offered him. "Thanks, but I think I already have enough caffeine in my system to keep a bear from hibernating... and I had to say 'bear'? Perfect."

"I just hope we're not far from Emerald City. This journey had been long and dangerous enough." Lila sighed. Before Jimmy could comfort her, the scarecrow stopped and pointed at a distance.

"Call me 'Obvious', but that must be Emerald City!"

The group looked at the distance and wide opened their eyes at the huge, imposing city, with large emerald-colored towers behind a thick wall with green marble, polished smoothly: the whole place shined as a gigantic jewel.

"Yes, 'Obvious', that's the place." Jenny beamed. Now feeling much better, the travelers walked to the city with renewed energy.

As the group approached the city, they realized there were some small farms around it, obviously to provide food to the city's people. Unlike the farms Lila saw when first arriving to this land, these fields weren't corn or other crops', but fruits and vegetables ones. Lila also noticed most of the trees were green apples and lemons' ones, plus seeing several lettuce, broccoli, peas and watermelons fields, and the farms' building and fences, like Emerald City itself, were green painted, and the farmers all used mostly green clothing.

"Mmm... they really like their greens in this place." Lila commented to her friends. "But the farmers aren't as sociable as Miracle City's people. None had approached us."

"Uh... Lila, I recognize their expressions." Chuckie told her as the lion looked at the farmers. "They're afraid; when you first arrived, you didn't have a living scarecrow, a walking metal statue, and a lion at your side."

"Oh. You're right." Lila now was getting a bit worried. _"What if the city's people fear us too, and they don't let us see the wizard? That would be ever so terrible... Maybe they'd let me pass, but it wouldn't be fair for my friends if I can see him and they can't."_

Finally, the group arrived at the city's wall, and, right at the end of the yellow brick road, they found the main entrance, a huge dark green door. Jenny saw a sign next to it, reading 'To enter, please ring the bell', and, next to the sign, she found a rope whose other end went inside the wall. The metallic girl gave it a good pull and several bells started ringing.

A moment later, a small hole opened on the door, and the group could see someone's eyes.

"Alright, who's there? Tell your name, motives of your visit, and who won the last game between the Lousy Lemons and the Large Lettuces."

"Uh... okay, if you are talking about some kind of sport team, sorry, we don't know." Jimmy, as puzzled as his companions, replied to the one inside.

"Oh, Ultra-Rats. How could I miss last night game?" The guy groaned. Then, another pair of eyes appeared next to the first ones; this time, they were wearing round glasses.

"Sheen, you know you can't ask those questions to the visitors. Just follow the procedure." The guy with the glasses' had a meek and low voice.

"Fine, Carl, let's do it your way... The boring way." The first guy, now identified as Sheen, talked to the group again. "Okay then, answer the first two questions... oh, and sorry, but if you're bringing pets to the city, you have to put a leash on them, especially on the lion. I know, it's a dumb rule, but some people don't like getting eaten."

"Oh, but he's not a pet. He's my friend, Chuckie." Lila said, now ready to make the proper introductions. "And the scarecrow here is my friend Jimmy, and she's my friend Jenny; I'm Lila Sawyer, and this little dog is Spunky..."

"He looks more clueless than spunky to me." Sheen interrupted.

"No, his name is 'Spunky'. And we came here to see if Mister Wizard of Nick can, please, attend us." Lila finished in her usual polite way.

"You came to see the wizard?" Carl gasped.

"Let me handle this, Carl." Sheen cleared his throat. "**YOU CAME TO SEE THE WIZARD? **Are you brainless?"

"Well, I am." Jimmy pointed at himself.

"Oh. Ouch." Sheen paused a bit before continuing in his hyperactive, loud tone. "Still, you can't just come and ask to see the wizard just like that! You have to send a petition, make 10 copies, get a hundred signatures, and then wait at least for 90 days before we return you the petition and tell you that **YOU CAN'T SEE THE WIZARD!**"

"Sheen is right. The wizard is our city's ruler, and he's a very busy person. You can't come and ask for an audience with him just like that; if he wants to see you, he'll be the one calling for you. That's how it works." Carl replied.

"Oh, come on... have a heart!" Jenny groaned. "And if you have an extra one, give it to me."

"Really, can't you make an exception? We made a very long journey to come here, and it wasn't easy or safe." Jimmy pleaded.

"Yeah, I mean... two chasms, El Oso, the river, the flowers..." Chuckie got interrupted by Sheen.

"Stop right there. Don't tell me the story; I'll wait for the book... and then ask someone to read it for me and give me a summary without all the boring parts."

"Please, don't do this to us. We really need to see the wizard. We'll be ever so grateful if you do." Lila got closer to the door's hole, the girl now getting teary eyes.

"Oh, no, not the puppy eyes... That's cheating. Carl, you tell them." Sheen groaned and closed his eyes. Carl was about to politely decline their request again when, suddenly, Lila's forehead started glowing with a white light.

"S-Sheen, you have to see this..."

"If it's a llama, Carl, I'm not... Ultra Wow, is that what I think it is?" Sheen wide opened his eyes.

"Uh... Lila, right?" Carl asked the nodding girl. "Do you know The Good Witch of The North?"

"Mrs Maria? Yes, I first met her when I arrived to this land. She's the one who told me to come here." Lila told them, unaware of her own glowing forehead and how her friends were staring at it now.

"Oh, my... this girl has good connections." Sheen said to Carl.

"Yes... we can't deny her entrance... and if the others come with her, then we must let them in too." Carl replied.

"Yeah... okay, one moment." Sheen closed the little hole and then the group could hear him and Carl removing several locks.

"Lila, how did you do the whole... glowing thing?" Jimmy asked her.

"Glowing?" Lila was puzzled for a moment until she looked up and saw a little bit of the glow before it disappeared. "The glowing... Oh, it's Mrs Maria's blessing. She gave it to me before sending me here... She told me it would be useful."

"Of course. She's a witch, and a good one, no less, so she's a very important person here, and nobody wants to offend her. That blessing is pretty much your V.I.P. pass." Jenny pointed out as the guards finally opened the door. Now the group could see them well, they realized Carl and Sheen weren't much older or bigger than Lila; Carl was an obese redhead with a short hairdo, with a few freckles on his face, while Sheen was thin, slightly taller than him, and with a dark, spiky hairdo. Both of them were wearing green uniforms.

"Okay, look, we can't leave our post, but we'll get you someone to guide you to the palace. With some luck, you'll get to see the wizard, or at least, talk with his assistant." Carl said to the group while letting them in.

"Yes, one moment, please." Sheen cleared his throat and then yelled. **"HEY, LIBS, COME HERE! IT'S IMPORTANT!"**

While this 'Libs' arrived, the group could finally take a good look to the city. As expected, green was the predominant color in both the buildings and clothing, and even regular objects were mostly green. Also, the city was clean, huge, and the citizens seemed to be happy, as most of them had nice expressions.

"Hey, this is a nice place." Lila said to Carl, the girl visibly impressed.

"Thanks. The wizard usually doesn't talk directly to his people, but, through his leadership, we have a very prosperous community. In fact, nobody works more than half-day shifts, and most people enjoy their jobs; that's why you rarely see anyone angry here." Carl explained her.

As they continued talking, a cocoa-skinned girl, with a braided hairdo, and a stylish green outfit, approached the group, giving Sheen an amused smile despite rolling her eyes.

"Sheen, I've told you, you don't need to yell every time you wanna call me." The girl said before looking at the newcomers. "Oh, hi; long time without any tourists here... Uh, you're tourists, or a circus act?"

"No circus act, and no tourists; we came here on business. Sorta." Jimmy shrugged at the girl.

"Libby-licious, these guys came to see the wizard." Sheen said to the girl while placing an arm around her shoulders. "And before you say it's not possible, well, we already told them that, but the girl comes with very good recommendations."

"And those would be..?"

"The Good Witch of The North. She has her blessing, Libby; look." Carl pointed at Lila's forehead. Libby got a bit closer and the blessing mark appeared again for a few moments.

"Whoa. Talking about a fashion statement." Libby was visibly impressed. "Okay, I'll take you to the wizard's palace. Just be on your best behavior, don't bite the people, and if any of you needs to use the... sanitary facilities, tell beforehand."

"Why you only looked at me when you said the 'bite' and 'sanitary facilities' bit?" Chuckie frowned a bit but then sighed and raised his left hand. "But yes, I need to use the bathroom."

Once Chuckie made a quick stop at the guards' restrooms, Libby took the group to the palace. Apparently, her job was precisely as a Tourists' Guide, but due to the road's dangers, very few people came to Emerald City, so she had a side work as fashion designer.

"... and let me tell you, it's really hard to be creative when you only can use green tones." Libby rolled her eyes while chatting with the group, mostly with Lila, who was the only one with some fashion knowledge. "Of course, the wizard allows us to use clothing on any color we want, but because of tradition, we stick mostly to green."

"Oh, I think the city is ever-so beautiful. Still... you think the wizard will attend us?" Lila asked.

"Well, you first have to talk with his assistant. She's my best friend, and she's in charge of the palace; and with that blessing of yours, at least you can be sure the wizard will get your messages." Libby answered as they finally arrived at the palace, the most prominent Emerald City's building, with towers so big it reminded Lila of some skyscrapers back at home.

Libby rang the doorbell and told the group to be patient; apparently, since the city was very prosperous and the outer wall protected it well, the place only had a handful of guards and policemen, even at the palace, so it took a few minutes for someone to open the door.

"Coming." The door finally opened, and the group saw a green-eyed blond girl, around Libby's size, greeting them; like everyone else in the city, she was wearing green clothing, in her case, similar to an uniform, and, with a closer look, the group realized this girl was made of porcelain.

"Guys, she's Cindy; the wizard's right hand and semi-ruler of Emerald City." Libby made the introductions.

"Libby, you know I'm not a semi-ruler or anything like that... even if, yes, I do most of the work around here." Cindy rolled her eyes and smirked a bit. "So, who are your friends? If they're looking for a job, we have a full staff right now."

"No, Cindy, they came to request an audience with the wizard."

"Uh... okaaaaay... Did you check if they have functional brains?"

"I don't." Jimmy pointed at himself. "And that's precisely what I came to request."

"Well, you really need it if you think it's so easy to get an audience with the wizard. I barely see him, and I work here." Cindy was about to continue her tirade when Lila's forehead started to glow again. "Wow."

"Yep. A good witch's blessing." Libby grinned at her friend. "So, I think you should at least inform the wizard about this group and their requests."

"Yes, please." Lila said to Cindy. "First, hello, and thanks for receiving us. My name is Lila Sawyer, and I need to return home."

"My name's Jimmy, and I need a brain."

"My name's Jenny, and I need a heart."

"My name's Chuckie, and I need courage."

"My name's Cindy, and I need a break." Cindy groaned and rubbed her temples. "Okay, come in. I'll tell the wizard about this while you wait at the main room. Make yourself at home... and I want no paws on the furniture."

Spunky and Chuckie nodded at the last part as the group finally entered the palace; as they expected, it was quite magnificent, and Chuckie found himself intimidated again.

"Now I fear touching anything; if I break it, I'm not gonna need courage but a life-long loan." Chuckie cringed.

"Gee, you really need the courage." Cindy told the lion as she leaded them to a room where they could wait.

"Before you go... this wizard is as good as everyone says?" Jimmy asked her.

"You tell me. He fixed me." Cindy rolled one of her uniform's sleeves to reveal what seemed to be a very little crack. "I broke my whole body some time ago... as you can realize, porcelain is very fragile. The wizard fixed me with a special liquid of his, and I've been working here since then. He even made enough of this special liquid so I can cover myself with it regularly; thanks to that, my body is no longer as breakable as before."

Jimmy and the others were satisfied with this explanation, showing that the wizard definitely was resourceful and he'd be able to help them. Cindy left the room and didn't return until almost one hour later; in the meantime, Libby stayed with them and started telling them some generalities about the city and the palace to keep them entertained while Cindy returned.

"What did he tell you?" Jenny, quite eagerly, asked Cindy the moment she re-entered the room.

"He's a very busy guy, but he agreed on seeing you all and hear your requests. However, he'll only see you one after the other, and that will be tomorrow. The first appointment will be in the morning, next one at noon, then at mid-afternoon, and final one in the evening." Cindy told them. "He also instructed me to have you well attended while you wait for your turn, so, until you see the wizard, consider me your host."

The group was a bit disappointed that they would need to wait a bit more before talking with the wizard, but, considering how important he was, and that he still was attending them, they all agreed with his terms. Cindy then took them out of the room, and she and Libby, with help from the rest of the palace's staff, prepared them to spend the night.

**X-X-X-X-X**

(Now, for the notes. Pip, the mouse, is from 'Back to the Barnyard', while the cat chasing him was Max, a secondary character from 'The Penguins of Madagascar'. The rest of the characters introduced in this chapter, namely Sheen, Carl, Libby and Cindy, are from 'The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron, Boy Genius.' And, again, the flowers and how the group handles them are part of the original story.)


	6. Meeting The Wizard

Chapter 6 - **Meeting the Wizard.**

The next morning, Lila woke up in a very luxurious, large bedroom, and for a moment she thought she was still dreaming. She then saw Spunky sleeping on the pillow next to hers, and sighed, realizing this was no dream; she had actually spent the night in the Wizard's palace, at the room Cindy and the staff prepared for her.

"Well, Spunky, time to meet Mister Wizard." Lila petted Spunky, gently waking him up, and then she got a shower at the room's private bathroom. Apparently, even if the Wizard rarely received any visit, he liked having fancy, well-prepared rooms just in case. Lila wanted to be ready as soon as possible since, the previous night, she and her friends had decided the order they'd see the Wizard, and Lila got the first turn, so she'd have her audience right after breakfast.

Lila met up with her friends and Cindy at the palace's main dining room. Just like herself, all of them have received some extra attention so they would look their best when seeing the Wizard; Jimmy got some fresh straw, Jenny was perfectly polished and lubricated, and Chuckie had taken a bath and his fur had been perfectly brushed; the staff tried to brush his mane too but it always came back to its normal messy self after a few moments so they stopped trying.

"Good morning, Lila. Did you have a good night?" Cindy said to the redhead as she took her place at the table.

"It was ever so good, Cindy. I love my bedroom." Lila smiled at her before turning at the others. "Did you like your bedrooms too?"

"Well, truth be said, I didn't spend the night at my room." Jimmy confessed. "You know I don't sleep at all, so I spent the night at the palace's library... By the way, thanks again for letting me in, Cindy."

"You're welcome. Usually, I'm the only one who really reads in this place, so it was nice to have another person enjoying the books." Cindy shrugged, smiling a bit. "For a brainless guy, you really liked the library."

"I'm brainless but I'm also curious." Jimmy shrugged back, smiling at her as well before turning at Jenny. "How about you, Jenny?"

"Oh, well, my room was nice too, and a much more comfortable place for my Rest Cycle. I don't sleep like humans but I need to 'turn off' myself once in a while so my systems can take a break. First time I do it in a bed the size of a rhino." Jenny rolled her eyes and smiled slightly before turning at Chuckie. "And you..."

"Slept almost the whole night." Chuckie admitted. "I'd have slept the whole night if I didn't need to check up every single corner of my room before going to sleep, and didn't wake up every couple of hours to make a second check up."

"Whoa, you really need courage." Cindy chuckled. "Seriously, are you a lion or a mouse?"

"Well, I like cheese." Chuckie half-joked, getting some small laughing from the group. He, Lila and Spunky had their breakfast while the non-fleshy members of the group made some small talking.

Once breakfast was over, Cindy lead Lila, with Spunky following them, to the Wizard's room, that was on top of the palace's tallest tower; after her companions wished her luck, they all went to the palace's library, where Jimmy had spent the whole night; he suggested spending their time reading while Lila saw the Wizard, and Jenny and Chuckie accepted as they had nothing else to do and it was better than just waiting for Lila's return.

Cindy lead Lila and Spunky as they walked up the very long stairway to the Wizard's room. Lila was glad she was using Sartana's shoes since this walk couldn't be done without very comfortable shoes; the stairway seemed to extend forever, and she had to ask Cindy to make a little stop around midway so she could catch her breath back.

"I'm... almost tempted... to change my wish... for an elevator." Lila took a few deep breaths and cleaned up her sweaty forehead.

"Yes, it's not easy to visit him; The Wizard is a very private person, plus he likes living on top of the tower so he can watch all over the city." Cindy chuckled a bit. "Heh, before I got my special cover, I was dead-afraid of walking up these stairs because I could roll down and break myself in a hundred pieces."

"Oh, that's ever so horrible. Being made of porcelain must be quite risky." Lila commented.

"You get used to it. It's not as if I had another option." Cindy shrugged. Once Lila felt a bit better, they went back to walking, and after a while, they were in front of a large door. Cindy knocked it and a moment later the doors opened by themselves.

"He'll see you in private. I'm waiting out here until you're done." Cindy told the redhead. Lila nodded and, after thanking her again, she and Spunky entered the room.

The room was quite spacious, with a large throne at the wall opposing the doors' one. The doors closed behind Lila, and the girl and dog walked to the throne. Aside from the throne, there was nothing else on the room, or at least it seemed, since the light inside was very dim and Lila was having problems to see anything.

"Uh... hello? Mister Wizard? A-are you here?" Lila gulped a bit before hearing a thunderous noise.

"**Yes. Get closer to the throne."**

Lila paled slightly while Spunky cowered behind her legs. The girl got back to advancing, with the dog right behind her, and then the immediate area around the throne got illuminated; Lila could now see it was made almost entirely of gold, with green ornaments and cushions. The girl approached a bit more, and then, out of nowhere, a huge, gray, human male head, without many distinctive features, appeared over the throne, floating a couple of feet over it. Lila jumped back in fear; the head reminding her of a huge stone statue.

"Y-you are..."

"**Yes. I'm The Wizard of Nick, The Great and Terrible." **The voice then changed to a more casual tone even if still being quite loud. **"Well, the 'terrible' thing is just a title and I kinda change it once in a while; but make no mistake, I'm still 'great'."**

Lila gulped and, looking for some comfort and security, grabbed Spunky and hugged him against her chest, similarly to a teddy bear. The dog didn't mind as he also felt safe on her arms.

"W-well, Sir... I... I'm Lila Sawyer... and... I..."

"**You are the one who's wearing Sartana's shoes. You are the one who finished The Wicked Witch of the East."**

"Uh... eh... that was an accident, actually... the building fell on top of her... It wasn't even a real house but a storage one..."

"**The one you traveled inside when you came from the United States... Hillwood, if I'm right, as I usually am."**

Lila was now even more surprised, but also happy; the Wizard knew where she came from.

"You really are great! Nobody in this land have heard about my country before... then, you already must know why I'm visiting you. I'll be ever-so grateful if you return me home, please." Lila now bowed respectfully in front of the huge head.

"**Why, you don't like my land? You can't tell me it's not great."**

"Oh, I like your land." Lila said quickly, hoping she wasn't offending him by accident. "It's an ever-so wonderful place, and I've made some good friends already, but I miss my home and my friends, and, most important, my father; you see, I'm the only family he has left. He and I suffered a lot when my mother... you know... and I miss him terribly; plus, I'd really dislike if he thinks I've died and that he's now alone in the world."

"**Yeah, not exactly the nicest picture..."** The head seemed to get thoughtful now, despite his rocky features. "**Anyway, accident or not, you have already made a good service to this land for getting rid of one evil witch... and you already got paid for it; The Good Witch's blessing is a very valuable, important gift that I'm sure you already treasure." **The head paused while Lila nodded in agreement. **"And now, to make your wish come truth, you'll also need to make me a service."**

"Oh... okay... you want me to clean up your tower?" Lila offered.

"**Girl, you're asking me to use phenomenal magical powers to return you to a very far away land; that's not something you can pay up by doing some menial chores. Besides, I already have a servant that cleans up every Thursday." **The head then got back to the more menacing, authoritarian tone. **"THIS LAND USED TO HAVE TWO EVIL WITCHES. NOW IT ONLY HAS ONE. DESTROY THAT ONE EVIL WITCH, AND YOUR WISH WILL BE GRANTED."**

"D-destroy... a witch?" Lila was shocked now. "B-but, Sir, you know the first witch... it was an accident... and... and I can't hurt anyone on purpose, not even a witch... and that's if we suppose I can actually defeat a witch on first place! Please, Sir, I'm begging you, let me pay for your service in some other way!"

"**YOU ALREADY HEARD ME! THAT'S MY CONDITION. DESTROY THE WICKED WITCH OF THE WEST... nice alliteration... AND BRING ME EVIDENCE OF HER DEFINITIVE DEFEAT AND DESTRUCTION... oh, another good one... OR YOU'LL NEVER RETURN HOME! AT LEAST, NOT BY MY HAND... and good luck finding yourself a travel agency that can do that; we already have problems just with the road... AND NOW YOU'VE HEARD ME, YOU CAN LEAVE! DO AS I'VE TOLD YOU, AND THEN, AND ONLY THEN, YOU'LL BE ALLOWED BACK TO MY PRESENCE."**

There was a loud explosion of light, with a deafening noise, forcing Lila to close her eyes and making her and Spunky to cringe. When they both reacted, the head was gone, the room was again poorly illuminated, and the doors opened behind her. The girl, fighting back tears, walked out of the room, where Cindy was waiting for her.

"That bad, uh?" Cindy noticed Lila's mood and gently patted her shoulder while starting to walk the stairways down. Unnoticed to Lila, Cindy looked back at the room, with the doors closing again, and the porcelain girl shook her head slightly.

Even if walking downstairs was obviously less tiring and much faster than walking them up, it still took them a long time, as Lila told Cindy about how her audition had gone and the Wizard's conditions, and Cindy tried to comfort her before meeting with the redhead's companions, that were still at the library.

"Lila, what happened?" Jenny practically dropped the book she was reading when Lila, still holding Spunky, entered the library, with Cindy closely behind. Jimmy and Chuckie left their own books to join the girls; Cindy nodded at them and left silently so Lila could talk to her friends in private.

"I... I'll never return home." Lila sniffed. "The Wizard will not grant my wish unless I do something that's ever-so impossible."

"It can't be worse than using the yellow brick road." Chuckie tried to comfort her.

"I have to kill the Wicked Witch of The West."

"I stand corrected." Chuckie cleared his throat. "KILL THE WICKED WITCH OF THE WEST? THAT'S IMPOSSIBLE! THAT'S TERRIBLE! THAT'S...!"

Jenny closed the lion's mouth.

"... enough, Chuckie. You're in a library, remember?"

"Still, he's right. Killing a witch?" Jimmy started pacing. "That can't be easy at all. I mean, you told us that Mrs Maria, a Good Witch with powers of her own, couldn't get rid of Sartana, and the only thing that could destroy her was a house..."

"Warehouse." Lila corrected, still looking down.

"... still, a house... crushing her. That's gonna be very hard to top." Jimmy sighed. "Mmm... maybe... if I tell the Wizard to switch my wish... so I can wish for you to return home too..."

"No, Jimmy, please, don't do that." Lila told him, very touched by this gesture. "We don't know what he's gonna ask you to do as payment for your brain; maybe it's something... well... cheaper, or easier... than killing a witch..."

"Almost anything would be." Chuckie groaned.

"And I would feel horrible if you lose your chance." Lila gave the scarecrow a gentle smile. "Besides, even if the Wizard doesn't grant my wish, maybe... just maybe... your brain will be smart enough to think a way to send me home."

"Hey, Lila's right." Jenny pointed out. "At this point, your wish might be the most important, Jimmy, because it can help grant all the others."

"You're right... why I didn't think that before?" Jimmy chuckled. "Because I'm brainless, duh."

"Yes, you have to ask for your wish..." Chuckie was feeling optimistic but then paled slightly. "But... if your wish is so good... maybe... to get it, you'll need to do something as hard as Lila's condition."

The others realized Chuckie was right and got worried expressions.

"Way to kill the mood." Chuckie facepalmed. "Why, with all my phobias, I'm not afraid of speaking my mind?"

"No, you did good, Chuckie." Jimmy told him. "It's better if I'm ready for that possibility. If the Wizard 'charges' for his wishes, I must be willing to pay... and find ways to fulfill whatever condition he comes with."

The group nodded in agreement, and they spent the rest of the morning together, trying to cheer up Lila, until Cindy told them it was time for Jimmy to see the Wizard. Even if it still wasn't noon, Cindy had realized how long it could take for them to reach the tower's top, so decided it would be better to start at least 20 minutes before the appointment's time.

A few moments later, she realized that maybe they should have started one hour ago.

"You really are bad at walking, uh?"

"Statement of the year." Jimmy groaned. "It's very frustrating... I don't get tired, but my legs, literally, weren't made for walking. Some of the books I read were about working out routines and fitness programs, and thought about trying them... until I realized I have no muscles to exercise. I might be able to walk forever but I'd never be able of doing it fast."

"Yeah... it's very ironic, uh? Your body and mine have many advantages over a human's, but the simplest things they do can be quite a challenge for us." Cindy told him before stopping walking and showing her back to Jimmy. "Okay, climb in."

"What do you... Oh. Piggy-back ride?"

"Yes, we don't wanna be late, and I'm obviously much stronger than you, plus I'm used to the stairway." Cindy shrugged and Jimmy, seeing her logic, did as the porcelain girl told him. Now they were advancing at a much more decent pace.

"You're very strong... and smart... Do you have a brain?" Jimmy asked as Cindy continued walking.

"Gee, most original pick-up line I've heard... and if I didn't know why you ask me this, I'd be offended." Cindy rolled her eyes yet conserved a good mood. "Well, remember I'm not an... unique being, like you; you're probably the only living scarecrow in all this land, or the world, while living porcelain/china people, even if not that common, are a race in this land. You don't see many of us because we're very fragile, but you can still find a few ones like me here in the city. And like any magical race, we can have human-like attributes even if we're not made the same way; I have no heart or brain but I'm capable of feeling and thinking like any normal girl."

"I see... well, I might lack a brain, but even I can see the Wizard made a smart choice when selecting you as his main assistant." Jimmy complimented her.

"Thanks, Straw Guy." Cindy smiled and looked up, realizing they were almost at the doors. "Okay, just a bit more. Now, remember, The Wizard never appears the same way twice, at least, not the same day, so you won't see him as a giant head, as Lila did. Even I don't know what shape he's gonna take now."

"Okay... but I wish he still was a head; a giant head would understand the importance of a brain." Jimmy commented while Cindy gently dropped him in front of the doors. "Thank again."

"You're welcome. Go ahead, I'll be waiting here."

As it happened with Lila, the doors opened by themselves, and the door was poorly lighted. Still, Jimmy's night vision allowed him to see a humanoid figure sitting on the throne. Once the doors closed, the throne got illuminated, and the scarecrow could see a large and elegant-looking woman, wearing a luxurious dress, sitting on it.

"The... Wizard?" Jimmy asked while approaching the throne.

"Yes, that's me. Come closer, Scarecrow."

"Okaaay... cross-dressing is normal in this city? I'm nobody to judge you, of course, but..."

"I like to be unpredictable." The woman said before getting a little grin and a thunderous voice. "**UNLESS YOU WANT ME TO TURN INTO A HUNGRY BULL; YOU KNOW, THOSE ANIMALS THAT EAT STRAW."**

"No-no-no... this shape is okay! Nice dress, by the way!" Jimmy said in a hurry.

"Thanks, I designed it myself." The woman smiled. "Now, not that I don't know already, but please, tell me your name and what do you want."

"I... I am Jimmy, a living scarecrow... a-and I want to have a brain so I won't be an ignorant fool any more." Jimmy tried to cool down and ask for his wish in the most polite way possible. "I know that you'll probably ask me for some payment, and I'm willing to fulfill the conditions you state."

"For a brainless guy, you're pretty well informed." The woman got thoughtful again. "Okay, I'm feeling generous today, so yes, I'll grant your wish..."

"Really?" Jimmy beamed.

"... if..."

"Yes?"

"... dramatic pause... you destroy the Wicked Witch of the West."

"Well, that..." Jimmy paused. "Say what? But that's what you told Lila to do!"

"What can I say? I'm a super wizard, so I can get almost anything I want; therefore, if you come and ask me for something, then I'm gonna ask for one of the very few things I can't get with a finger snap." The woman shrugged. "And getting rid of that evil witch is something I really want... in fact, it's something anyone would want. That gal is bad news."

"Guess that makes sense." Jimmy sighed. "Uh... but then, if I somehow manage to do this, then Lila..."

"Oh, you can go help her if you want; I don't mind who gets rid of that witch as long as someone does it. Just participate somehow in the witch's destruction, I don't know, hold her so Lila can punch her belly or drop something heavy on her. The point is, I want this land to be evil witches-free. Do this for me, and you can get a brain so big it will make Einstein look like The Three Stooges but without the sense of humor." The woman smirked.

"Einstein and... The Three what? Sorry, I don't know them." Jimmy admitted.

"Then you really need that brain. Now, don't think this hadn't been nice or funny, but I have to wash my hair and my manicurist is coming in a while, so, please, do as a tree and 'leave'."

"Uh..."

"I'm a wizard, not a comedian. Leave now."

Before Jimmy could reply, the same explosive light that surprised Lila and Spunky the first time made Jimmy to jump back and cover up, thinking it was a flame coming after him, but a moment later the room was completely silent and dark, and the throne completely empty. The doors opened and Jimmy, groaning slightly, left the room, joining Cindy on the stairway. Again, Cindy gave sad look at the Wizard's door that got unnoticed by Jimmy as they both walked downstairs.

Jimmy's friends were a bit surprised when hearing the Wizard wanted him to do exactly the same thing he had requested to Lila for her own wish. Jenny and Chuckie were now fearing (especially him) that they'd be asked to do the same, to destroy the evil witch, or at least participate in her destruction.

"Mmmm... maybe I can convince the Wizard to change his prize." Jenny commented. "If he's at his big head's form, I'm sure he'll have a big brain that gets interested in scientific stuff, and I'm a walking science project; and if he's in the womanly form, maybe he'll have a soft, tender heart, and will understand why I want it so badly."

"But you heard Cindy. The wizard changes forms all the time." Chuckie gulped. "Maybe next time he'll be a dragon.. or a set of keys... a screwdriver... an old doll... a cookie jar.."

"I get it... And why would you be afraid if he appears as a doll, a screwdriver, a cookie jar or a set of keys?" Jenny arched an eyebrow at him.

"Who knows? I'm not a wizard." Chuckie groaned. "He probably can find ways to make them scary... as if going to destroy a witch isn't scary enough."

Cindy interrupted the 'debate' to tell them that lunch was ready; obviously, only Lila, Spunky and Chuckie ate it, but this little pause helped the group cool down a bit. They all killed some time walking around the palace until Cindy told Jenny it was her turn.

Unlike Jimmy and Lila, Jenny had no problems walking upstairs, and she actually did it a bit faster than Cindy, who had to walk slightly faster than usual to keep up with Jenny. Once they arrived at the doors, they opened up, and Jenny entered; unlike the other times, the room wasn't dark but extremely illuminated, so much that Jenny had to cover up her eyes for a moment until the light descended to a normal intensity, about the same moment the doors closed behind her.

The wizard stood on his throne, and Jenny, for once, was glad she had no heart or it would be beating wildly in fear at what she saw. The wizard had taken the form of a huge, furry monster, that seemed to be made of pieces of several species; he had a moose antler and a buffalo horn, the head looked like a mix-up of a bear and a tiger's, the whole body was covered in multicolored furs, and he had large, terrifying claws. When he finally spoke, it was almost like a roar.

"**GET OVER HERE, GIRL."**

Jenny approached the throne until the beast raised a paw/claw, signaling her to stop a few feet in front of him.

"**LET'S CUT TO THE CHASE. I'M THE GREAT AND POWERFUL - yes, I changed the title, I can do whatever I want - WIZARD OF NICK, AND I'VE GRANTED YOU THIS AUDIENCE. TELL YOUR NAME AND WHAT DO YOU WANT."**

"Sir, my name is Jennifer, Jenny for friends, and I'm a mechanical creation; my mother and creator, Doctor Nora Wakeman, passed away a long time ago, and she couldn't finish her work." Jenny said this in a very respectful tone, both for the Wizard's position and her mother's memory. "Because of that, I'm incomplete. I lack a heart, or whatever substitute I can use, to have feelings like a normal person. I'd be quite grateful if you grant me this wish, both for my sake and to honor my mother."

"**GREAT, I'M ATTENDING A MAMA-GIRL." **The beast growled a bit but, despite his words and roaring voice, it seemed there was little malice in his statement. **"WELL, USUALLY, I WOULDN'T ATTEND A LIVING ACTION FIGURE LIKE YOU, BUT I'M FEELING GENEROUS, AND TODAY I ALREADY ATTENDED A STRAW DUMMY. I'M SURE HE AND THE REDHEAD GAL ALREADY TOLD YOU WHAT I WANT."**

"Yes, Sir. You want the one remaining evil witch to be... destroyed..."

"**Destroyed, killed, disposed of, evicted, eliminated, exterminated, gone forever, 'kapoot', or whatever. I just want her gone." **The beast growled again. **"THEN, YOU KNOW WHAT I WANT. HELP YOUR FRIENDS GET RID OF THAT WITCH, OR YOU GET RID OF HER AND ALLOW THEM TO HELP YOU, AND YOU'LL GET YOUR HEART. OTHERWISE, LEAVE AND NEVER RETURN."**

Jenny didn't even try to argue with him. She had been planning on how to talk to a human or even to an artificial being, like herself, but she had no idea about how to discuss this with a monster. Jenny just nodded and started walking out of the room, that, once again, got illuminated intensely as she approached the door, and when the lights went off, Jenny turned back for a moment, realizing the Wizard had left. The metallic girl shook her head and left the room.

"How are you feeling?" Cindy asked her as they started walking downstairs.

"If I had a heart, it would be broken right now... but that's precisely my problem, uh?" Jenny looked down while Cindy sighed and started comforting her as they continued the descent.

This time, the rest of the group didn't even ask Jenny what the Wizard had asked her as payment for her wish; she just silently nodded at them and they knew she had the same results as Lila and Jimmy. Chuckie paled and cringed, thinking he'd get the same answer.

"Uh... maybe I shouldn't even go to the appointment. Why asking something that I already know the answer for?" Chuckie groaned.

"Because, as much as we dislike his conditions, the Wizard still decided to receive us, and if you don't go, he might feel offended." Lila told him.

"And if he gets too offended, he might not grant us the wishes even in the VERY remote case we can fulfill his conditions." Jenny added.

"I just know this isn't such a good idea." Chuckie sighed yet nodded, realizing he'd need to go anyway.

The lion spent the rest of the time before his appointment at the bottom of the stairway, waiting for Cindy to go tell him it was his turn; his friends stayed with him, trying to help him relax, but made little difference, as Chuckie paced back and forth, similar to a caged animal, and he felt like one. He felt even worse when looking up at the very high stairway, his acrophobia affecting him already.

"Maybe we should wish for him to move his office to the first floor." Chuckie commented while still pacing. "Or to add a suggestions box... or just to... stop being a scary wizard with scary powers living on top of a scary tower..."

"You're scared. We got it." Jenny groaned, trying to be patient with the lion but she wasn't in a good mood herself after her appointment so it was hard to be optimistic now.

When Cindy finally arrived and she and Chuckie walked upstairs, the lion was visibly nervous the whole way up, even if his friends were staying at the bottom to wait for him. As much as Chuckie appreciated their concern, the idea of moving to a very high place to meet up with a person that was already freaking him out was quite a challenge for him, and at times Cindy had to encourage him to continue walking up, and when they arrived at the doors and they opened, the porcelain girl still had to give him a gentle push inside the room.

As it had happened with Jenny, Chuckie didn't enter a dark room but a blindingly enlightened one. The feline covered his eyes until the lights returned to a normal level, and then he looked at the throne's direction, gasping when seeing a huge fireball floating over it.

"Fire! Somebody call the firemen... or at least, bring a bucket of water!" Chuckie yelped and started moving to the already closed doors when the fireball talked to him in a loud, commanding tone.

"**DON'T NEED TO. IT'S ME, THE GREAT, HOT -couldn't resist- AND POWERFUL WIZARD OF NICK!" **The flames seemed to grow in intensity as the voice continued. "**GET CLOSER TO THE THRONE, NOW!"**

"Uh... eh... w-well... eh... may I go get a bucket of water... or chocolate, crackers and marshmallows?" Chuckie tried to lighten the mood with some humor. "S-sorry... defense mechanism... I talk nonsense when I'm scared."

"**THEN IT SEEMS YOU NEVER SPEAK NORMALLY."** The flames lowered their force, but only slightly. **"Hurry up, I don't wanna end burning the castle by accident and rebuild it from ashes. I'm a wizard, not an engineer."**

Chuckie, feeling a bit safer now the flames weren't as big as before, finally approached the throne and stopped a few feet away from it, already feeling the fireball's heat.

"**YOU KNOW HOW THIS WORKS. TELL ME YOUR NAME AND WHAT DO YOU WANT."**

"M-m-m-my n-na-na-name i-is..."

"**Porky?" **The fireball made a groaning sound. **"HURRY UP!"**

"My name is Chuckie, The Cowardly Lion, and I came here asking for some courage, if you have any to spare and it's not too much problem, Sir!" Chuckie spoke in a hurry now.

"**Yeah, I can see why you want courage; really, are you a lion or a chicken?"**

Chuckie started clucking while making 'chicken wings' with his arms.

"**At least you have comedic timing. Anyway... YOU ALREADY KNOW MY PRICE! DESTROY THE WICKED WITCH OF THE WEST..."**

"N-nice alliteration..."

"**Thanks, I know... DESTROY HER, OR COLLABORATE IN HER DESTRUCTION, AND I'LL MAKE YOU A COURAGEOUS LION! IF YOU DON'T, GET LOST, AND LIVE THE REST OF YOUR LIFE AS A..."**

"Cowardly, pathetic excuse of a wimpy beast who fears his own shadow and shouldn't even be seen in public again?" Chuckie gulped.

"**Gee, forget the Courage, what you need is Self Esteem... okay, that's it. THIS APPOINTMENT IS OVER. LEAVE. NOW!"**

The fireball's flames became gigantic at the last part. Chuckie yelled in fear and made a running position.

"Got it, got it! Exit, stage left!" The lion dashed to the door... that wasn't open yet.

"**HEY, WATCH OUT FOR THAT..."**

CRASH!

"**... door."**

The door now had a lion-shaped hole on it... and the Wizard could hear Cindy's yelling now.

"No, no, Chuckie, watch the..!"

"YEEEEEEOWWWW-OW-OW-OW-OW-OW-OW-OW-OW-OW..."

"... stairs." The girl cringed and, after giving a last look to the door, walked downstairs, following the falling lion. A few minutes later, she found him at the bottom, his glasses on top of his head, his mane messier than usual and with a pained expression, getting attended by Jenny and Lila while Spunky licked his feet and Jimmy used his hat to fan some air on him.

"W-watch that step..." Chuckie groaned. "It's a little tall..."

A while later, once Cindy brought some painkillers for Chuckie and called the royal janitors to get the door fixed, the group was back at the library, trying to decide what to do next.

"Well, it's obvious that we can't destroy the witch." Jenny groaned. "Guess I'm never getting my heart."

"And I'm never getting my brain." Jimmy lamented, looking down.

"And I'm never getting my courage... ouch... or getting this pain to stop." Chuckie said while rubbing his shoulders.

"And I'm never getting back home." Lila sighed sadly while petting Spunky. As much as she liked her new friends, the girl missed her old friends back at home, and, more importantly, she wanted to return with her dad, who surely was suffering a lot thinking he had lost his only daughter.

The group stayed silent for a while before Lila got a decided expression she very rarely used. If Arnold was here, he'd have some encouraging words for the group and find a way to solve this problem, while Helga would surely call everyone out of their self-pity and get ready to beat up the witch all by herself if necessary; Lila, of course, knew she didn't have the courage, abilities and determination of her friends, or Arnold's leadership skills and Helga's wits, but she also knew Helga had a point about how she couldn't always rely on everyone else to solve all her problems, and right now, Lila needed to take the initiative, both for herself and her father, and for her friends' sake, all of them deserving to get their wishes granted as much as she wanted her own.

"I... I want to give it a try." Lila said, surprising her friends. "Really, we already did a lot to get our wishes, and we can't give up now. If anyone had ever told me I'd walk several miles and face a bear-man, a very dangerous road and poisonous flowers to see a wizard, I'd think it's a joke or some fairy tail, but it had already happened. I don't want to hurt the witch... even if I'm ever-so sure I can't even if trying... but I'd never forgive myself if I don't do my best."

"You came with a good point, Lila." Jimmy's resolve was growing now. "If I can leave my cornfield and start a journey to get myself a brain, well, maybe continuing isn't the smartest thing to do, but if it's the only thing I can do, so be it. I'm going with you."

"And you can count me in." Jenny pointed at herself. "I'm not gonna fail my mother or myself, and I'm not gonna let you go and attempt something as dangerous as fighting a witch without some physical strength for back-up. I'm heartless, not ungrateful."

"Good. You guys go and when you return you tell me how it worked." Chuckie gave them a sheepish grin before sighing and looking down. "Yeah, I know, that was pathetic... but then again, I'm a coward."

"It's fine, Chuckie. This is our own choice, and we can't force you. You already were ever-so helpful on our way here. We couldn't have make it without you." Lila said to her feline friend while Spunky barked and Jimmy and Jenny nodded in agreement.

"Oh, great... guilt complex is coming now." Chuckie facepalmed. Lila realized she had accidentally guilt-tripped the lion and started feeling guilty herself.

"I didn't want to make you feel..."

Chuckie raised a hand/paw and shook his head.

"No... it's fine, Lila... I can't be angry with you; the only one I'm angry with is, well, myself for being such a coward. And I'm convinced that going after the witch isn't such a good idea... but... because of my same cowardice... I can't let you guys go and stay here myself because I'd be fearing for your safety the whole time!" Chuckie groaned but then got a little grin. "This might be the dumbest thing I've ever done, and I already have quite the list, but the scaredy cat is on the team."

"Alright, Chuckster." Jenny, visibly happy, gave him a playful punch in the shoulder. The lion cringed at this and rubbed the spot where the now sheepish Jenny punched him. "Oops."

"Heh, no problem, Jenny... I think it was the only spot that didn't hurt before." Chuckie managed to chuckle a bit, making his friends to smile at him.

"Then, we need a plan now." Jimmy said while leading everyone out of the library. "Let's see if Cindy can give us some information on the witch."

Cindy wasn't far from the library; in fact, once she had finished giving instructions to the janitors, she had returned to that area of the palace and stayed outside just because she wanted the group to have some privacy. Once they told her about their decision, the girl was both excited and worried.

"Well... I really hope you guys can succeed, but I can't do too much to help. Nobody knows too much about the witch except that she's evil, wicked, and icky." Cindy admitted.

"Icky?" Lila arched an eyebrow.

"Well, Mrs Maria might be pretty, but witches in general aren't famous for their looks." Cindy shrugged. "And she's quite evil; so much, that nobody in this city, or the rest of Nick, had been able to go to the lands she rules over to get real information about her, just that she domains most of Nick's western area, and that at first she called herself ' The Baby Shredder Witch of the West' but changed it to 'Wicked' for alliteration's sake."

"Not the best information." Chuckie gulped a bit.

"And how do we get to wherever she lives? There's some road... hopefully, on better conditions than the yellow brick's one?" Jenny asked.

"There's no road to her palace-house-whatever since nobody wants to visit her, and she doesn't let her slaves to leave her lands without permission." Cindy explained. "Your best option is to walk west from this city, in a straight line, and once you get close enough, she'll send someone to make you her prisoners."

"So, the only way to get to her is if she gets us first." Jimmy frowned. "Not the best plan but it's the only one we have right now."

"Then, I suggest you all to rest tonight, and you," Cindy pointed at Jimmy "since you don't sleep, go to the library and continue learning as much as you can; brain or not, you still retain information and who knows if you will learn something that can be useful later."

The group agreed with Cindy as she took them to the dining room; due to the appointments and the general mood after them, Lila and Chuckie hadn't had dinner yet, and tonight would be the last night of comfort they'd have in a while, and that if they were lucky.

"I really hope you can handle this witch. It would be great to finally get rid of the last evil witch in Nick... The Wicked Witch of the West, or, as her friends would call her if she had any..." Cindy whispered before saying the name that made thunder to strike out of the closest window. "... Vicky."

Not surprisingly, Chuckie hide under the dining table after hearing the thunder.

**X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X**

(As you can see, we've finally revealed who'll play the Wicked Witch's role in this story; Vicky, from 'The Fairly Oddparents'. Also, the wizard's identity, as in the original story, will remain a mystery until much later. As for the individual appointments, and The Wizard's shape-shifting, again, it's a detail from the original story that is often ignored on the adaptations; in fact, in the original story, the Wizard sees one character a day instead of all the same day at different times, as we did here.)


	7. Go West, Young Witch Hunters

Chapter 7 - **Go West, Young Witch Hunters**

The next day, the group left Emerald City quite early, this time heading west. As Cindy told them, there was no road to follow this time, so they relied on Chuckie's animal instincts and orientation to go west without getting lost.

"Are you sure we're going the right way?" Jenny asked him after they had to deviate their route a bit to surround a small hill.

"I'm pretty sure we're going west... because all my instincts are yelling at me to run exactly at the opposite direction." Chuckie admitted, still not fond at all on this journey; then again, nobody in the group liked the idea of battling a witch.

"I just hope we don't need to walk for several days." Lila commented. Just in case, she was now carrying a couple of blankets and a clothing change (both courtesy of Libby) in her magical basket, since it was very possible they'd need to camp at least once on their way to the witch's lands.

"I still wonder, how is this witch gonna know we're going her way?" Jimmy shrugged as they continued.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" Vicky, the Wicked Witch of The West, a redhead using stereotypical witch outfit, used her magical eye, aka a special monocle that was as effective as a very powerful telescope, to give a look around her kingdom. The witch's castle was on top of a large, creepy-looking hill, giving her a perfect observation point of her lands, and when she wasn't terrorizing her slaves-servants, the witch often went to the tallest tower for some surveillance work.

"Mmmm... a short guy dressed with straw and old clothing, a girl in cheap armor, a geeky guy with messy red hair, a twerpy girl with silly pigtails, and a small mutt." Vicky got a sly grin. "I doubt any of them is a good enough slave... no case on catching them alive. Better send them my welcome party."

Vicky whistled, and a moment later, a huge, gray, mean-looking wolf appeared out of thin air.

"_Jacklondius Wildfangius." _Vicky cackled and used her magic on the canine, sending him out of the castle. The moment the wolf was out, the witch's magic made him to multiply over and over again until this lone wolf became a large pack. Some of Vicky's servants, who were doing chores right out of the castle, panicked at this and ran for cover; they knew this meant their evil dictator had seen someone approaching her land, and that someone was about to get severely punished.

"Go, my puppies. Go get your food!" Vicky cackled while the wolves howled and started dashing at the direction Lila's group was. "Who let the dogs out? Oh, right... I did it!** HAHAHAHA!**" Vicky then paused and got a sly grin. "Mmm... I have time until they find those fools. Better get some snacks ready to watch the massacre."

After a whole day of walking, the group decided to stop and camp for the night. They set it up right next to an old, semi-dry tree, so Jenny could get some branches and use it as firewood; the tree was on top of a small hill, so they also had a good observation point from there. While Lila, Chuckie and Spunky ate dinner, and Jenny lubricated her joints, Jimmy moved a few feet away from the group, both to play watcher and to stay away from the fire.

"Mmm... good dinner, Lila; thanks." Chuckie said to the girl while finishing his last burrito. "Really, I was so hungry I'd have eaten a wolf."

**HOOOOOWL!**

Everyone froze at the spot, and Chuckie gulped.

"I didn't mean it literally."

Jimmy gave a look around, and, as much as he hated to get close to the fire, he asked Jenny to bring a flaming branch with her and use it as a torch to have some light, since even his night vision wasn't that good to see something coming from a very long distance. Once Jenny did, the metal girl and the scarecrow gulped.

"Wolves... and they're a lot!" Jimmy informed Lila and Chuckie. The lion, who now could see the pack as well, started shaking in fear.

"I... I might be able to roar and scare one or two wolves away... but these many? They're gonna feast on us!" Chuckie started hyperventilating.

"W-wait, wolves can't climb trees." Lila pointed out, reminding everyone there was a tree right behind them.

"Yes, but this isn't a very big tree, and we can't stay up there for life." Jimmy said. Jenny frowned, getting an idea.

"Lila, grab Spunky; Chuckie, you get them and Jimmy up there, and stay as high as you can. I'll handle the wolves."

"But Jenny, this is ever-so dangerous!" Lila said while grabbing Spunky.

"Yes, maybe you'd let Chuckie help you." Jimmy added.

"Don't help me here, compadre." Chuckie groaned while grabbing the scarecrow, the redhead and the dog, and climbing up to the tree's highest branches that could stand their weight. Jenny stayed at the tree's bottom, waiting for the wolves to arrive.

A few minutes later, the wolves ran uphill, ready to charge at the group. The wolf leading the attack pounced on Jenny the moment she was close enough, and the metal girl covered with her arms.

**CRUNCH!**

**YEOOOOOWL!**

Jenny smirked as the wolf that attacked her started yelping and covering his muzzle in pain. The rest of the pack stopped and now kept a respectful distance from the girl, as the first wolf shook his head and some of his fangs fell down.

"You can't bite me, guys; so... Dentist Jenny's in the house." Jenny grinned while morphing her left hand into a hammer and the right one into a mace. "Who's next?"

After a few moments, the wolves decided to continue with the attack, trying to get past Jenny and catch the others. Jenny started swinging her fists/weapons left and right, hitting most of the wolves. A few ones managed to get past her defense and started jumping at the ones on the tree, but they were too far from the wolves' normal reach, and whenever Jenny saw a wolf getting too close to success, she turned at him and hit the canine from behind at full force. One wolf, apparently bolder or more agile than the others, actually tried climbing up, but he was stopped by Chuckie's roaring, that surprised the canine and made him to fall down.

The battle lasted for several minutes until all the wolves were limping, bruised, and mostly toothless.

"Yes, I don't fear the big bad wolf." Jenny changed her hands into axes now. "Wanna continue playing?"

The wolves ran away as fast as their battered bodies allowed it.

"That was impressive, Jenny!" Jimmy congratulated the metal girl as Chuckie helped him, Lila and Spunky down the tree.

"And very nice of you about not... chopping them." Lila gulped. As much as she hated to see anyone, person or animal, getting beaten, she knew it was necessary in this case, yet was happy that Jenny didn't use lethal methods on the wolves despite how badly she injured them.

"Remember, not being cruel to anyone... as much as I can avoid it." Jenny pointed out as her hands returned to normal.

"Maybe we should get on the move now. Obviously, this place isn't exactly safe... and I have a bad feeling. Somehow, this pack attack didn't seem natural." Chuckie's natural instincts, combined with his usual fear, made him feel very uneasy. The others agreed with him and, after Lila and Jenny turned off the campfire, the group looked for another place to camp for the night.

"Okay... my favorite couch... popcorn... a pillow... Yes, I'm ready to see the attack." Vicky grinned while getting herself comfortable and grabbing her monocle. "Hope the wolves haven't finished them yet. I hate when I don't see the whole show."

Vicky gasped when looking at the scene. The wolves were returning to the palace, very slowly, and they looked in terrible conditions. Vicky then turned at the site she had seen the group camping, and didn't find them or any blood traces, meaning they haven't only battled the wolves but they also had won and ended relatively unharmed. Vicky started looking around but, unknown to her, the group was now setting a hidden camp, this time without any fire, and even if Vicky's magic allowed her to see at impressive distances, she had no night vision and there was no full moon that night, so she couldn't find them.

"Rats. I underestimated those guys. Now I wish I had seen the whole fight." Vicky thought out loud, frowning. Evidently, these strangers had some sort of power or abilities that allowed them to best her wolves. The evil witch decided to call it a night and go to sleep after telling one of her servants to wake her up very early the next day so she could focus all her attention on the intruders.

The next morning, Vicky got back to her observation point on top of the tower. She grinned when seeing the group again, realizing they were heading to her palace almost in a straight line, even if they were still too far away to get a good look of their destination.

"Well, since my K-9 squad didn't work, maybe I'd try my air force." Vicky put her hands together and, when separating them, a large, dark blue pigeon appeared on them.

"Oh, so good, appearing pigeons; what a great spellcaster you are." The pigeon said in a tough-guy voice. "What's next? Getting a rabbit out of your hat or a coin from my ear? Oh, wait, I have no ears. Tough luck, Girl."

"Shut up, Frankie, or I'll turn you into my dinner." Vicky growled at the pigeon, effectively scaring him. Then, the witch smirked and informed him of his mission. "Peck those pests until they're nothing. Go now! _Flockius Hitchcockian."_

Vicky threw the pigeon up in the air, and a moment later, his feathers became completely black and the bird grew in size and strength, getting a large, sharp beak; the pigeon, now transformed into a crow, then started multiplying just like the wolf did the previous night, and soon a huge flock flew away from the castle, heading to the group's encounter. This time, Vicky would see the whole thing.

The group had started walking again almost at sunrise, and Lila, Spunky and Chuckie had their breakfast as they moved. After a while of walking, they entered a high-grass area, and Lila had to carry Spunky to avoid losing him in the literal sea of grass.

"Hey, look, up in the sky." Jenny pointed up. "It's a bird... no, it's a lot of birds! It's a flock of crows."

The others looked at the crows too, and Chuckie realized they seemed very hostile.

"Maybe I can scare them away... then again, if I could do that, I wouldn't be here on first place." Jimmy groaned. This time Chuckie was the one with an idea.

"Jimmy, I'm gonna make you the world's scariest scarecrow." The lion grinned. "After all, I'm the expert when it comes to fears."

Once Chuckie explained his plan, the group went down, covering up with the grass. The crows, still looking for them, started descending to search in the grassy area, and once they were close enough...

**ROOOOAR!**

Jimmy, making his scariest face, emerged from the high grass, with Chuckie (obviously, the one roaring) behind him, both guys extending their arms and Chuckie showing his claws, while Jenny, still covering herself with the grass, lifted Jimmy to make him look taller and also to cover Chuckie's presence a lot better. From the flock's point of view, they had just found a monstrous, huge, roaring, clawed four-armed scarecrow; the scare was so effective that all the crows disappeared on thin air, except one, that morphed back into a pigeon and flew away in fear.

"I don't get paid enough for this! Help!" Frankie yelled, completely panicked, and soon he was out of sight.

"Whoa... I don't know what was more impressive; how scary you guys were or what happened to the crows." Lila, emerging from her hiding place, gasped at the scene.

"I think both!" Chuckie gulped. "We were so scary that I got afraid of myself... and... those birds disappeared just like... magic!"

"It's the witch's work." Jenny frowned. "And I'm almost sure the wolves that attacked us last night are her work too."

"On the bright side, this means we're getting closer to wherever she lives." Jimmy pointed out.

"Aren't we the lucky ones?"Chuckie groaned while Lila comforted him.

"Well, at least now we know we can defend ourselves... or more precisely, that you guys can. I only have the protection of the blessing, and without it, I'm ever so defenseless." Lila pointed out.

"Hey, don't say that. After all, you're the one who rallied us to get here on first place." Jimmy grinned. "And yes, you're right; we're doing well so far, and we're not giving up now."

Jenny and even Chuckie felt a bit more encouraged by this, and they continued with their journey.

Vicky frowned and facepalmed; then, she snapped her fingers and appeared a pencil and a piece of paper; using her magic, she made the pencil to write what she was saying.

"Note to self; get a good roast pigeon's recipe. Second note; replace Frankie with a turkey. That way, if he fails, I'll have something bigger to roast." Vicky snapped her fingers once the note was ready, and started pondering on her next move.

"Okay, these guys are resourceful... I give them that. I need to send someone who doesn't get afraid, and that they can't fight back so easily." Vicky smirked. "Time to call... the bees."

Ten minutes later...

"Here's your taffy, Miss Vicky." A nerdy girl in yellow and brown scout uniform handled Vicky a box of candy. "Again, the Honeybees, number 828 troop, thanks you for your preference."

"Thanks, Bessie. I needed something sweet to help me think." Vicky thanked the girl scout while eating some taffy. "Tell my servant to pay you at the exit."

"Okay, Miss Vicky." The girl extended her hand. "Uh... any tip?"

"Yes, get another job."

The girl sighed, rolled her eyes, and left, while Vicky continued eating her candy.

"Mmmm... good taffy. Okay, time to get to work." Vicky grinned and used another spell. "_Blackellowius Stingus."_

A hive appeared on her hands and, a moment later, a huge swarm of hornets emerged from it.

"You have a mission for us, Chief?" One of the hornets, with an evil grin, flew in front of Vicky.

"Of course; you didn't think I call you just because I want some company, right?" Vicky smirked. "Look, there are a few morons I want you to sting; a lot, in a very painful way, and until they move no more."

"Oh, yes, we love stinging others!" A second hornet added, with a similar evil expression.

"My favorite part is when they yell." The first hornet commented.

Once Vicky told them where to go, the large swarm flew away from the castle, and Vicky, still eating her taffy, went back to her observation point.

The group stopped walking in the middle of a forest. Unlike the one where Jenny and Chuckie used to live, this forest wasn't too dense, probably because it didn't have a river and there weren't many other water sources. In fact, it seemed Nick's western area was quite dry.

"Maybe I should consider moving around here in the future." Jenny commented. "Less humidity means less risks of rusting."

"Yeah, but who wants to move to a place with wicked witches, and furious wolves, and killer crows, and..." Chuckie got interrupted by Lila.

"A swarm!" Lila looked up, seeing the hornets coming. "Quick, we need to set up a campfire; bugs don't like fire or smoke."

"We have no time... quick, Jenny, use my straw." Jimmy opened up his shirt. "Don't worry, this won't hurt me; cover Lila, Spunky and Chuckie with the straw so the bugs don't find them."

Jenny did as the scarecrow told her, with Lila, Spunky and Chuckie laying down, with their bellies on the ground, as the metal girl covered them with Jimmy's straw. When the hornets finally saw Jenny, they only found her and a large pile of straw, without any signs of the other intruders Vicky told them to sting.

"Hey, there's only one! I thought we'd sting a small group, but nothing this small." A random hornet commented, visibly annoyed.

"Who cares? We can still sting her." Another hornet commented, smirking at rest of the insects agreed with him, and soon they all charged at Jenny... with predictable results.

"If I could feel something in my skin, this would be tickling me now." Jenny grinned as the hornets tried to sting her, breaking their 'weaponry' in the process. Since they were no bees, the hornets didn't die after stinging, but they still felt pain from trying to stab a metallic surface, while Jenny, completely unfazed, moved away from the straw pile, and made a quick campfire, now using the flame and the smoke against the hornets.

"Argh, this is too much! Let's get out of here!" A hornet yelled in pain and fear while his companions started coughing due to the smoke. After a few minutes, the whole swarm left.

"Okay, guys, you can get out now." Jenny said to her companions, and Lila, Spunky and Chuckie emerged from under the straw.

"Very clever, Jimmy." Lila said to the scarecrow, as she had been holding his head all the time.

"I wouldn't say 'clever', but thanks... now, can you refill me, please? I don't wanna lose too much weight." Jimmy joked while his friends collected the straw and started stuffing it back in his body.

Vicky growled a bit, having watched her hornets getting defeated. However, this time the group was close enough so she could actually see them in detail; the tall girl wasn't wearing some cheap armor, as she had thought, but she was made entirely of metal, and the guys weren't a short boy dressed on straw and old clothing and a geek with a messy hairdo but a living scarecrow and a humanoid lion.

"So, this girl..." Vicky now looked at Lila. "Mmm... what shoes is she wearing? I like... Hey, those are Sartana's shoes!"

Vicky gasped in realization. Being a witch herself, she knew about Sartana's definitive defeat, and also heard rumors about how the one who destroyed her was now using her magical shoes; nothing too surprising, actually, since Vicky wouldn't think twice before stealing a fallen enemy's property. And now it seemed the same person was coming to her lands.

"Mmm... she looks like such a weak, silly little twerp... but then again, maybe those who come with her are magical beings she created..." Vicky thought out loud. "Of course; that's why they could get past my wild guardians. She has two servants that are immune to most animal attacks, and an animal servant of her own. Not bad... well, guess that I'll need to go for some old-fashioned human servants. Francis!"

A large, gray-skinned, brute-looking boy arrived a few moments later.

"Yes, Your Witchness?"

"I need you to go get rid of some intruders. They're ready to battle my animals, so we'll need to use weaponry." Vicky explained while walking down from her observation point, Francis following after her, as she lead the guy to a large room filled up with axes, swords, whips, spears, maces and similar. "Ah, my toys room. Hadn't been here in a while."

"Alright, Your Witchness." Francis smirked. "But I can't do this alone. Should I take the guards?"

Vicky looked at the guards in charge of protecting her weaponry, a pair of boys; one was a bald, black-race one, while the other was blonde with tooth braces.

"Please, don't send us, please, don't send us..." The bald one closed his eyes and whispered a plead.

"Please, please, please, I only took this job because of the dental plan..." The blonde one joined the plead.

"Ugh. Sending these two would be like feeding the lion." Vicky rolled her eyes. "No, take the elite guards. The... Loincloth Men! **HAHAHAHA!" **Vicky paused and got a sly smirk. "What can I say? I'm a witch but I'm also a girl."

A while later, Francis and a dozen of tall, muscular men dressed in loincloth left the castle, all of them carrying weaponry from Vicky's room. Unlike Francis, the Loincloth Men weren't too fond on the idea, but they were even less fond of angering Vicky, so they obeyed her orders just like everyone else in her kingdom.

"Mmmm... I should make this a daily parade." Vicky smirked while watching the marching muscular men. "But... this is taking too long. Better give them some transportation... got it. _Rampagious Jumanjis!"_

Vicky summoned several battle rhinos that Francis and the Loincloth Men could ride on, and soon they were moving at top speed to the group's encounter.

"Heh, much better." Vicky grinned, and, a moment later, she smirked when hearing the villagers' yelling and seeing the destruction the rhinos were causing in their ride/rampage. "Yes! Bonus points."

The group was now advancing much faster than before, as they now knew for sure that they were getting closer to the witch's home. Chuckie suggested, despite his better judgment, to walk in the same direction they saw the swarm coming from, as it was almost sure that they came right from Vicky's place.

"If they do, then this witch has an ever so peculiar taste in pets." Lila commented.

"I think they qualify more like attack beasts or something like that." Jenny pointed out. Then, Spunky, who had been walking a bit ahead of the group, stopped and got alert, something he rarely did.

"What's going on, Spunky?" Jimmy asked while petting the dog. Chuckie got alert as well.

"I feel it too... the ground... vibrations." The lion stood on his four paws now to sense them better. "Mmm... oh, no... a stampede. Several animals, VERY big ones; probably buffalos or rhinos."

Jenny climbed up to a nearby tree to get a better look and realized Chuckie was right.

"Yes, they're rhinos... and they have riders." Jenny paused. "Men in loincloth... and a boy so ugly I'm happy he's fully dressed."

"Rhinos... rhinos eat straw." Jimmy gulped.

"And they're too strong and too many; there's no way I can fight both the rhinos and the riders as I did with the wolves." Jenny added, visibly worried, as she jumped down the tree.

"Then, our only option is... do the same as with the crows; scaring them away." Lila commented, getting worried herself. "But how are we scaring them away?"

They all looked at Chuckie now, the lion gulping at the implications.

"You want ME to fight a bunch of rampant rhinos? I wouldn't be able to do that even if it was just one!" Chuckie was panicking now. "And I don't think I can scare them away just by roaring. I'd need my own army and..."

The lion paused, getting an idea and turning at Jimmy and Jenny.

"Aren't you guys friends with the mice?" Once the duo nodded, Chuckie rubbed his chin in thought. "Well.. this would work better against elephants... but..."

After some minutes, Francis and his riders were now getting very close to the little forest the group was hiding. Francis grinned when seeing the first line of very small, scarce trees, knowing the intruders were behind them and that they wouldn't survive the charge.

"Alright, let's crush those fools. Charge!" Francis commanded, and he and the Loincloth Men charged with their battle rhinos. Right before they reached the trees, however, they got ambushed by a living sea of charging mice.

"You heard Grey Guy, mice. Charge!" Pip, leading the rodents, made them climb up the rhinos' legs, making the large beasts to shake and move out of control trying to get rid of the mice. The Loincloth Men also panicked when many of the mice reached them and started climbing up their legs, and when trying to hit them, the men only managed to injure themselves and discomfort the rhinos with their own weapons. Francis, angry with the rodents, jumped down his own rhino and started chasing after them, trying to hit them with the mace and sword he was carrying.

The Loincloth Men decided to do the same as Francis, and jumped down the rhinos to attack the mice directly. At this moment, Chuckie charged out from the forest, roaring and showing his fangs and claws at the attackers; the rhinos, confused by the mice's ambush and no longer having riders to guide them, got surprised by Chuckie's charge and they ran at the opposite direction, almost crushing the Loincloth Men and Francis. Before the humans could react, they found themselves attacked by Chuckie, who, cowardly and all, was still a lion, and at this moment he felt quite encouraged due to having an army of his own. One of the Loincloth Men tried to hit him with a spear but Chuckie broke it with his claws and then punched him, sending the guy several feet away.

"Uh... eh... s-stand back... I..." Francis, very scared by now, pointed his sword as Chuckie as the lion stood in front of him. "I... I command you... to give up... in the name of Vicky, The Wicked Witch of The West."

"Okay... you command me... You and what army?" Chuckie grinned. "Always wanted to say that."

Francis, paler than usual, kept pointing at him.

"Uh... this is the part when you say 'This army'; do your part, can you?" Chuckie said in a matter-of-fact way while Pip climbed up to his shoulder.

"Yeah, come on, we thought the witch worked with professionals." The mouse commented.

"I... uh... This army!" Francis, now a bit angry, continued pointing with his sword.

"And this is the part when you look around and see you're alone." Pip continued.

Francis looked around, and saw the Loincloth Men were gone by now, and the rhinos were nowhere in sight as well. The grey guy looked back at Chuckie, the lion now, very casually, grabbing the sword from his hands, and breaking it apart with ease. Chuckie got a bit closer to Francis and then used his 'furious lion' roaring and attack pose, paralyzing Francis in fear.

"And now, you run away." Chuckie whispered at the guy. A split second later, Francis dashed away in a panic, and some mice could swear he now needed a change of underwear.

"That was brilliant!" Jimmy emerged from the forest, the girls and Spunky closely behind them.

"Thanks again for your help, Pip." Lila thanked the mouse as Chuckie gently placed him back on the ground.

"Hey, my pleasure; told you, mice are everywhere. And you guys were lucky I was visiting some of my ten thousand cousins around here." Pip chuckled before looking back at Chuckie. "And good roaring. You almost convinced me that you wanted to eat those guys."

"Nah, the loincloth ones are probably full of steroids, and as for the last one... I can't eat another coward; professional courtesy." Chuckie chuckled slightly.

"You didn't look so cowardly a moment ago." Jenny pointed out.

"Cowards often have to deal with bullies, and I've learned that many bullies are even more cowardly than their victims. Show them that you aren't defenseless, and they run away." Chuckie shrugged. "Besides, I had a little yet big army on my side. Thanks again to you all, mice."

The rodents thanked Chuckie back, as they had enjoyed this a lot, and even more when Lila paid them with several cheese quesadillas she took out of her magical basket.

"Ugh. I'll need to punish those men later... maybe forcing them to wear pants." Vicky frowned while removing her monocle. "Nah, that wouldn't be punishment for them but for me. Oh, well, I'll think about something."

Vicky was now getting more than a bit frustrated. Lila (she thought) was a more dangerous spell-caster than she had originally considered; and now Vicky was running out of options.

"I need to stop those twerps, like, now. If they can stop an elite group, a rhino stampede, and all my other attackers, they are a real threat... Shouldn't be so surprised since this gal crushed Sartana."

"Uh, are you talking to me?"

Vicky looked down to see a buck-toothed boy, wearing a pink cap, cleaning up her living quarters.

"No, Turner. I was talking to myself. I enjoy a smart conversation." Vicky grinned. "Oh, and you missed a spot."

Timmy Turner, one of Vicky's favorite servants (meaning she enjoyed torturing him more than most of the others) turned at where the witch was pointing at, and gulped when seeing a spotted vicious watch dog growling at him.

"I hate my life." Timmy yelped and ran away with the dog in hot pursuit.

"Ah, the little pleasures." Vicky sighed and smiled before getting a thoughtful expression. "Mmm... back to topic, guess I'll need to use the emergency measures. I was saving this for a special occasion, and apparently, the time is now."

Vicky removed her witch hat and took a small golden cap out of it. She put on the cap, after getting closer to a large open window, she closed her eyes and extended her arms before chanting her spell, that made the golden cap to glow with great intensity.

"_Jinxus Magicus Pestus MILITIA!"_

The skies darkened, and then, the darkness seemed to get alive, as hundreds, if not thousands of black and dark blue small humanoid creatures, with bat-like wings in their backs, flew around Vicky's castle, terrorizing all her servants, as they knew what this meant.

"**Anti-Fairies, come to me!" **Vicky cackled, and soon the huge army she had summoned was hovering right outside her window. Then, one of the flying guys, that seemed to be leading them, flew closer to her; he was green-eyed and when in front of Vicky, got a formal attitude and spoke in a very stereotypical British accent.

"Hello, Clarice."

"Wait, what?" Vicky growled.

"Oh, sorry. You know I can't see that well without my monocle." The newcomer took out a monocle and placed it over his right eye. This creature was wearing clothes with a blue and black color scheme, consisting of a blue bowler hat (unlike most of the other creatures, that wore small black crowns), a formal suit, and black shoes. Like his companions, he had pointy ears, and like most of the other Anti-Fairies, had a pair of small fangs protruding from his upper lip. "So, you finally called us again. You know it's your third call, right?"

"Yeah, yeah, I know. No more calling after this one." Vicky rolled her eyes, obviously not so happy about summoning this guy.

"Aw, so it's the last time you call us?" A pink-eyed female, with pink eyes and large crooked teeth, approached Vicky too, speaking in a hillbilly accent. "You want your 'goodbye present'? It's a yogurt can."

The creature took a large can out of nowhere, filled up with spoiled yogurt, and offered it to the witch.

"I'd been saving this for you for years now."

"Anti-Wanda, I love you, but you're such a twit." The anti-fairies leader rolled his eyes while Vicky just shrugged, grabbed the can, and threw it at Timmy, who was still being chased by the dog, hitting him right in the face and making him to fall.

"Great. Now I got flavorized for the dog." Timmy groaned before the dog finally got him.

"Yogurt and a show. Nice." Vicky grinned before looking back at the flying guy, also handling him her own monocle. "I need you guys to deal with these intruders. They don't look like a serious threat but they already managed to defeat most of my defenses. Better play it safe now."

The leader took the monocle, and used it to look at Lila and her friends.

"Mmm... interesting group of twits. So, you want all of them destroyed?"

"No, not all of them, Anti-Cosmo." Vicky got a sly smirk. "You know I have a thing for using wild animals as slaves-servants-attack force. I want you and your anti-fairies to capture the lion and bring him here. If I can't use him as a watchdog... or watch-lion... I'll make him pull my carriage. It will be very original, and he probably will do it much better than my servants."

"They'd do better if your carriage had wheels." Anti-Cosmo smirked back.

"I don't trust wheels." Vicky shrugged. "Anyway, bring the lion here, and get rid of the others. Do it, and you'll have completed your last service to me."

"Aw, we're getting retired, just like that? No party? No 'good luck'? No recommendations from our previous boss?" Anti-Wanda grinned stupidly.

"Yes, here's a recommendation; don't fail me, or I'll make sure your next boss makes you clean toilets with your toothbrushes." Vicky replied nonchalantly but it was obvious she was serious.

"What's a toothbrush?" Anti-Wanda asked his husband, who just sighed and rolled his eyes.

"I'll explain you later, my beloved ignoramus spouse. Now, we have work to do. Let's go get them!" Despite hating to take orders, it was obvious Anti-Cosmo was about to enjoy this work. A moment later, all the anti-fairies started flying away from the castle.

"And I always wanted to say this." Vicky smirked before yelling and cackling. "**Fly, my pretties! FLY! HAHAHAAHAHA!"**

"Aw, she called us 'pretties'. She cares!" Anti-Wanda commented to nobody in particular while Anti-Cosmo rolled his eyes and the anti-fairies flock-army-whatever headed to find their prey.

This time, the group advanced much faster. Once they thanked Pip and the other mice for their help, Jimmy suggested following the rhino tracks, and their path of destruction, back to their origin. As he correctly guessed, the rhinos and their riders had to come from the witch's home, so they no longer had to rely on just Chuckie's instincts or whatever attack the witch used against them to find out the correct way.

"Hey, it seems we really are getting closer now." Jenny pointed out at a distance, seeing a large sign. They approached to read it.

"Mmm... 'You are now entering the Wicked Witch of The West's main domains'..." Lila paused before reading the next part. "'I would get back if I were you'... 'No kidding'... 'Seriously, go away'..."

"Ah, okay, we tried. We can't disobey the signs." Chuckie turned back but Jenny grabbed the lion's tail to stop him.

"Chuckie..."

"Heh... sorry, force of habit." Chuckie sheepishly grinned.

"Well, we already faced a whole 'zoo of terror' to get here. I doubt the witch can do anything worse." Jimmy shrugged, and a moment later, Chuckie and Jenny covered his mouth.

"Jimmy, you know I'm not the coward hereâ€¦ and we know you're brainless so not blaming you... BUT NEVER, EVER, SAY SOMETHING LIKE THAT!" Jenny groaned.

"Yes, every time you say something among the lines of 'what's the worse that can happen' or 'things can't get worse', well, surprise! They do get worse!" Chuckie exclaimed while removing his hand/paw.

"I'd normally say that's just a superstition... but considering we're witch hunting here..." Lila nodded at her friends, agreeing with them. The scarecrow sighed and nodded.

"Okay, I get it. Those phrases are forbidden; same as 'Nothing can stop us now'?" Jimmy asked.

"And... you said it." Chuckie face-palmed. In a perfect cue, the group heard wild, numerous laughs coming from right above them. When they looked up, they barely had time to yell when the anti-fairies literally rained over them.

"Divide and conquer! Separate them! This will be fun!" Anti-Cosmo directed his troops, cackling slightly at the last part. The anti-fairies, obeying him, divided their forces in smaller groups to separate the group, so they couldn't coordinate a counter-attack.

Jimmy and Jenny were lifted by the flying attackers, and carried up and away from each other. Due to the anti-fairies' speed, the scarecrow and metallic girl were soon apart by several miles.

"Let me go! Let me..." Jimmy then looked down. "Uh. Oh... Another forbidden phrase?"

"Ah, aren't you the smart one?" Anti-Cosmo flew in front of Jimmy and the anti-fairies carrying him. "Too bad. You already said it. Drop him!"

The anti-fairies dropped Jimmy in a forest where most of the trees were pretty tall and their branches covered in thorns. Jimmy didn't feel pain from the fall but he got stuck on the branches, several feet over the ground and very far from anyone who might be able to take him down. It was like getting back at his old cornfield but a hundred times worse.

Meanwhile, Jenny continued struggling to escape the anti-fairies. Being much more stronger and heavier than Jimmy, she had to be restrained and carried by several ones, and she still kept fighting back despite already being at a very large height. She only stopped fighting when realizing the anti-fairies had moved her right over a large chasm, similar to the ones she and her friends had found on their way to Emerald City.

"And this is where I'm thankful I don't really feel pain... but somehow, I'm sure this will still hurt." Jenny said to nobody in particular before the anti-fairies dropped her. The metal girl tried to get a hold on any of the flying creatures, in a very desperate attempt of stopping her fall, but was unsuccessful, and Jenny fell several hundred feet down, the anti-fairies laughing when seeing her impacting against the rocky ground and getting completely immobile afterwards.

Chuckie had made a decent job keeping the anti-fairies at a distance by roaring and throwing quick claw attacks at them, but he soon got overwhelmed by his attackers' sheer number, and when several of them managed to grab him by the tail, he knew he was done. The lion tried to charge at these anti-fairies but right when he turned at them, the rest of them attacked him at once, and taking ropes out of nowhere, they managed to immobilize Chuckie before carrying him up. The lion stopped struggling when realizing his situation, and didn't offer further resistance.

Lila, carrying Spunky, tried to escape the anti-fairies by throwing them random stuff from her magical basket, but the most she was doing was delaying and feeding them.

"Mmmm... assaulted with cake. Nice." Anti-Wanda licked her fingers and clothing after Lila threw a large cake at her. "Too bad we have to be harsh with her."

However, right before the anti-fairies touched Lila, Maria's blessing mark appeared on her forehead. This stopped the attack force immediately.

"You twits, why you stopped?" Anti-Cosmo joined his wife's group, once he had finished dealing with Jimmy.

"This girl got blessed by The Good Witch of the North." Anti-Wanda pointed at Lila. "And even 'I' am not stupid enough to try anything against her."

Anti-Cosmo had to admit his dimwitted wife was right. This blessing was a very powerful protection spell; hurting Lila would be quite hard for the anti-fairies, and if succeeding, they'd need to deal with a very angry Maria later; and an angry Maria equaled Plata Peligrosa, someone even Anti-Cosmo wasn't eager to fight.

"Okay... we can't hurt her, but we can't leave her hereâ€¦ I got it; let's take her, and that pup she's carrying, to Vicky's castle. Let her be that witch's problem." The anti-fairies' leader grinned, loving this idea that was a no-lose situation for him; either Vicky destroyed the girl herself or Plata Peligrosa trashed Vicky's castle for hurting one of her protegees.

Lila yelled one last time before the anti-fairies carried her and Spunky up. Even if they were careful about not hurting them, it was still a very scary experience. And even scarier when Lila realized their final destination was Vicky's castle.

**x-x-x-x-x-x-x**

(Now, for this chapter's notes. Again, the dangers Lila and company face in this chapter are based on the original story, with the Wicked Witch of The West having several groups of attack animals under her command besides her many slaves.)

(The wolf is from the first 'Rugrats' movie, while Frankie, the pigeon, is a secondary-recurrent character from 'The Penguins of Madagascar', same as the hornets. Bessie Higgenbottom, the scout girl, is from 'The Mighty B!", appearing as a gag/joke referring the use of bees in the original story, with Vicky using the hornets instead. The rest of the characters, including Timmy Turner, Chester and AJ - the blonde and bald guards respectively -, Francis and the Loincloth Men, are from 'The Fairly Oddparents.', all of them fulfilling the roles of the Winkies, the witch's enslaved people; also from 'FOP', the Anti-Fairies appear as The Winged Monkeys, the witch's most efficient servants.)

(Also, Vicky's spells make reference to other literary and filmic works; the wolf pack's summon spell makes reference to novelist Jack London, author of 'White Fang' and 'Call of the Wild', stories where canines play a main role; the spell that turns Frankie into a whole flock of crows, or a 'murder', the proper name for a flock of these birds, makes reference to Alfred Hitchcock, famous British filmmaker, and one of his most famous works, 'The Birds' with pigeons and ravens/crows among the primary antagonists; finally, the rhinos' spell makes reference to the 'Jumanji' movie, starring Robin Williams, and the TV series; as for the hornets, the spell only makes reference to the insects' characteristics, no other fictional work involved.)


	8. At The Witch's Castle

Chapter 8 - **At the Witch's Castle**

"Where do you want the lion?" One anti-fairy asked Vicky, the witch already waiting for them at the castle's backyard.

"Over here." Vicky pointed at the middle of the backyard, and motioned the anti-fairies to stand back while the witch prepared another spell. "_Fun box, oh fun box - It's small and square and dark -Fun box, oh fun box - Check out these cool fun locks!"_

Instantly, Chuckie was no longer tied-up and gagged, but inside a very small cage, barely enough to hold the lion inside, with iron bars and many padlocks.

"Heh, no pseudo-Latin for this spell?" Anti-Cosmo flew next to Vicky.

"I like singing once in awhile." Vicky grinned.

"Don't know what's worse... the fear I'm feeling from being a witch's prisoner, my claustrophobia, or that now I'm gonna have that song in my head for the rest of the day." Chuckie groaned.

"Well, too bad, Kitty Cat, because you're gonna be in there until you swear..."

"I don't swear! I'm very polite."

The anti-fairies laughed at this while Vicky frowned.

"As I was saying... until you swear loyalty to me, and to obey all my commands and orders." Vicky smirked. "I can use you to pull my carriage."

"Do I look like a donkey to you? Don't answer that." Chuckie quickly added. "Look… uh… I can't work for you, you know. For starters, I fear you."

The lion paused.

"And?" Vicky arched an eyebrow.

"I fear you. Do I need to add more?"

"Okay, you got a point." Vicky grinned. "Still, you better reconsider this decision, or you're gonna starve inside that cage. No food or water until you agree on being my loyal servant."

"Let me… balance… what's stronger; my claustrophobia, my demonophobia -that might apply to you- or my phobia of starving to death… the later, I hadn't researched yet." Chuckie gulped.

"What's the phobia to pain?" Vicky smirked while taking out a mace.

"Uh… a-agliophobia… yes, that's a strong one." Chuckie paled.

"As entertaining as this might be, and trust me, it's really entertaining…" Anti-Cosmo said while eating some popcorn he magically appeared. "... we, the anti-fairies, are in a hurry to never, ever see your face again, Vicky, so we are gonna leave now. And before that, I must tell you we didn't get rid of the girl or the dog; we brought them both… the dog, mostly, because the girl wasn't leaving him."

"What? I told you, I only wanted the lion!" Vicky snapped at him.

"It feels so good to be this loved." Chuckie groaned.

"Yes, yes, we know, but you see, this girl has a blessing mark; from The Good Witch of The North." Anti-Cosmo explained while still eating his popcorn.

"Maria? Ugh, that stupid do-gooder… Don't tell me that now she's not fighting Sartana, she's gonna start messing up with me!" Vicky face-palmed.

"I doubt anyone wants to mess up with you." Anti-Cosmo smirked before getting serious again, and motioning Vicky to follow him away from Chuckie so the lion couldn't hear their conversation. "Anyway, you know those blessings are very powerful. This girl is now very well protected from most magical attacks, and if we manage to hurt her, well… hope you don't mind having Plata Peligrosa remodeling this castle; her 'ruined wasteland' style would fit you."

Vicky groaned at this. Normally, she wouldn't be that worried about Maria, since the good witch usually had her hands full with Sartana plus ruling her own lands, plus Vicky had her own magical powers to fight her back, but with the bony witch gone, and most of Vicky's attack force defeated plus this being the very last time she would have the anti-fairies' assistance, the redhead sorceress wouldn't do so well against Maria. Even if her Plata Peligrosa powers only worked one hour a day, Vicky's castle (and face) would surely suffer severe damage in that time.

"Fine then. I'll keep the girl as a prisoner and servant… It would be a nice touch, to have Maria's protege at my service." Vicky smirked at the idea; as long as she didn't cause severe damage to the girl, she'd still be able to keep her prisoner without having Maria invading her lands.

"Suit yourself… and get better clothing in the process." Anti-Cosmo shrugged while he and Vicky finally went back inside the castle, where Anti-Wanda, along with some other anti-fairies, were keeping an eye on Lila and Spunky.

"So, Dear, are we finally leaving?" Anti-Wanda asked her husband.

"Yes, my beloved uni-neuronal wife." Anti-Cosmo held her hand and then smirked back at Vicky. "Have fun the rest of your life... or not; it's no longer my concern."

"Yeah, yeah, go fly to the sunset or wherever you midgets go when you aren't here." Vicky groaned. The anti-fairies then left all at once, and, at a distance, it seemed as if a huge, dark cloud was flying away from the castle.

"Well, well, well…" Vicky grinned at Lila, who was protectively hugging Spunky while giving the witch a scared look. "So, you guys wanted to do tourism, or why you came to my lands?"

"M-Miss Witch… I… uh… you see… the…" Lila hesitated, knowing that outright saying 'We came to destroy you' wouldn't be the best course of action, but also knowing she was a terrible liar. "I… we came… to ask you to…"

"Hold still while you drop a house on me?" Vicky growled at Lila, making her to jump back. "I'm a witch, remember? I have ways to know stuff… and I see you're wearing Sartana's shoes."

Vicky got an evil smile; due to the semi-civil relationship she used to have with Sartana, the redhead witch knew a bit about the shoes' real powers, and that getting them would help compensate for the losses she suffered on the way to catch Lila and Chuckie, and getting rid of their companions.

"Tell you what... I'll let you go if you give me those shoes." Vicky got a semi-friendly smile. "Best offer you're gonna get here."

"I… uh… b-but Mrs Maria gave them to me… and..." Lila then realized it wouldn't be a good idea to give Vicky these shoes, remembering they had magical properties. "And I… can't reject a gift from a witch; it wouldn't be polite. Plus, I… I can't just leave. Not without my friend, the lion that your flying people caught… or without finding out what happened to my other friends, the scarecrow and the metal girl."

"Quick summary; the scarecrow is stuck somewhere I don't really care, the girl is now scrap metal, and the lion is gonna stay here for the rest of his life as my servant." Vicky returned to her evil grin and tone. "And you better give me your shoes if you don't wanna lose your legs!"

Lila was now trembling in fear, until she remembered the blessing's protection, and how it saved her from the anti-fairies. The girl didn't know if it would work with Vicky too, but at this point, and without her friends to protect her, it was Lila's best chance.

"N-no. And I know you can't hurt me because Maria, The Good Witch, blessed me, and that means I'm protected." Lila paused. "More or less."

"Great. You have a brain; surprises never end." Vicky rolled her eyes. "Okay, Twerpette, maybe I can't hurt you directly, but I can still keep you prisoner, and make your stay REALLY dislikable. Heh, some of my servants would give their kidneys just to get away from here."

Chester, AJ and Timmy appeared out of nowhere, all of them holding knives.

"**You accept kidneys for freedom?"** The trio chorused.

"It was just an example, Twerps." Vicky rolled her eyes but then got a sly grin. "But thanks for proving my point, and for giving me a potential idea… Heh, it would be funny to see that."

The three boys face-palmed and groaned while Lila gasped. They really were about to remove their own kidneys just to get away from this witch; she definitely was as wicked and evil as everyone said.

"In other news, The Loincloth Men finally arrived." Chester informed Vicky. "And Francis too."

"Good. Okay, you twerps, this girl is gonna stay in the castle from now on. Give them some chores, and supervise she do them all." Vicky looked down at Spunky. "And yes, she can keep the dog, but if she misbehaves in any moment, tell me, and the pup is gone; for good. And if you fail to inform me if she gives any trouble, I'll punish you morons; I'd beat you up with my bear hands."

"Uh, you mean, 'Bare' hands, right?" Timmy gulped.

"No. My bear hands. _Yogius Handius._" Vicky changed her own hands into bear paws, claws and all; she then looked back at Lila, smirking at the girl and getting sure she could see the claws in detail. "I'm gonna use these with Francis and the Loincloth Men right now. Enjoy your life of slavery, Twerpette; or not, I don't really care."

Lila just nodded and stood on her place until Vicky left the room, the three boys cringing when she passed next to them.

"She's always this... uh... not good?" Lila gulped.

"That's a polite way to say she's a monster, right?" Chester groaned while Timmy looked back at Lila.

"Okay… guess we must give you some chores now…Well, we have no cook right now; the last one, well... last time we saw him, he was feeding the wolves; I won't say more." Timmy paled when saying the last part.

"O-okay… and sure, I will cook, no problem with that." Lila replied, willing to obey the witch's orders while she could come up with some idea for her and Chuckie to escape and find their friends. "In fact... I think the anti-fairies didn't drop my basket, right?"

"Yes, they left it here." Chester said while pointing at the basket, that was right outside the room.

"Okay… look, don't tell Vicky, but this basket is ever-so magical. It produces food." Lila explained while giving some 'tortas' to the boys; it had been so long since they had a decent meal that they devoured the food almost instantly. "This will be our secret, okay? I'll use the basket to make my cooking work a bit easier and to have more time for whatever other chore the witch has for me; I'm just asking you to, please, sneak some food to Chuckie, the lion, so he knows I'm okay and also for him to have a decent meal."

"Good idea; the witch said she's gonna starve him until he swears loyalty to her." AJ pointed out.

"And I'll do anything as long as I can eat more than once a day." Chester added while finishing his torta.

Lila got a little smile; despite her situation and how worried she was for her friends, it was a slight relief that she was making a few friends here that would make things slightly easier for her. The redhead was also realizing there was something else she could do, and hoped it would be enough. Still, considering the horrible yelling coming from the outside at that right moment, because of Vicky starting beating up her defeated servants, Lila knew she already was doing better than most of Vicky's slaves.

Lila spent a couple of weeks working at the castle. As she thought, Vicky had many chores in store for her; besides cooking, she also made her clean up and do the laundry, both being even harder to do because the witch never kept enough water at the castle, and Lila had to go get it from an outside well, with the other servants being forbidden to assist her. Luckily, she still managed to sneak some food to Chuckie; since Vicky malnourished most of her slaves, and only gave Lila enough ingredients for her to cook them a single, very small meal a day, the witch thought they'd never have enough leftover food for the lion, and without her knowing that Lila's basket could produce large amounts of food, Chuckie was relatively well fed and this helped him resist his own torture and not ending as Vicky's new animal servant.

Even with this help, Lila had to cook regularly the old-fashioned way, both to keep the witch from suspecting anything unusual and to fulfill her own cravings. Vicky, as Lila found out, was very demanding with her personal meals; mostly, she ate dry food, without any sauce and barely any moisture, and never had any drink. Even when making her naturally 'juicy' food, Lila had to bake, smoke or dry it somehow before serving. There were similar demands with the rest of her chores; when washing Vicky's clothing, for example, the witch demanded it to be perfectly ironed and dry before Lila gave it back to her.

Speaking of the witch, Vicky was still trying to think about ways to get the shoes from Lila. Unfortunately, the girl only removed the shoes when sleeping (and Spunky, who always slept at her feet, started barking whenever Vicky got close to the room) and when bathing herself, something that, sadly for LIla, could only be done once a week due to the difficulties of carrying enough water. Still, Vicky couldn't get the shoes when Lila was bathing since the witch never got close to the bathrooms except her personal one, that Lila, among her many chores, had to stack regularly with special oils and gels that Vicky used to clean up herself. The girl, who had become very observant in the last weeks, took note of all these details, trying to find any weakness she or her friends could exploit.

Vicky, finally, got an idea to get the shoes; she couldn't remove them by force but, if Lila lost them, the witch would be able to pick them up. Once she came up with her plan, Vicky sneaked outside the kitchen where Lila was working, and took a cautious look inside; she was a bit surprised when finding the girl kneeled on a corner, with Spunky next to her, and apparently talking to someone, who had be quite tiny; still, Vicky didn't took this seriously and set up her trap.

"_Invisibo."_ Vicky whispered her spell while holding a large stick that, instantly, turned completely invisible. The witch then put the stick on the door, holding it a few inches over the floor, and made it levitate with another spell. "_Floatius."_

Vicky, grinning in anticipation, moved a few steps back and called for Lila.

"Hey, Twerpette, get over here. I need you to do some boring, tiring, unnecessary chore for my amusement."

"Coming." Lila replied, and went to the door, tripping herself with the stick. The girl yelped and covered her face to avoid serious injuries, but Vicky's plan worked partially, as the sudden move was violent enough for one of Lila's shoes to fall.

"Hah! It's mine now!" Vicky cackled in victory and ran to grab the shoe, but Spunky was faster and grabbed it before. Lila finally realized what had happened.

"Spunky, run! Don't let her get the shoe!"

Spunky, for once, was completely obedient and dashed back to the kitchen and, despite tripping himself with the stick, he didn't drop the shoe and got back on his paws almost instantly.

"Give me that shoe, you mutt... **YIPES!**"

**WHAM!**

"STUPID STICK! _NORMALIUS!" _Vicky, after tripping with the stick, changed it back to normal, and then grabbed it, trying to hit Spunky with the stick now.

"No, don't hurt Spunky!" Lila literally begged her to stop.

"Shut up, Twerpette! It's time to put this mutt to sleep, and here's the anesthesia!" Vicky growled when missing another attack, yet getting closer to hitting Spunky with every swipe.

Lila looked around for any weapon she could use, and saw a little jar with water she had saved for herself. The girl grabbed the jar and threw it a Vicky, who yelped when realizing she was getting attacked and stepped back, barely avoiding the projectile, that smashed against the closest wall, with its content wetting the immediate area. Vicky growled and turned at Lila; she no longer cared about the blessing, showing it by lifting the stick and aiming at Lila's head.

"Stupid little… **AAARGH!" **Vicky yelped in evident pain.

When the jar broke, some of the water fell on Spunky, and now the dog was shaking to dry-himself off, some of the drops falling on Vicky's face and hands. She immediately dropped the stick and covered her face with a tissue she magically appeared.

"**BURNS-BURNS-BURNS-BURNS..."**

"Water…" Lila thought out-loud. Now, many of Vicky's demands and antics made sense. "You… you don't like water."

"And you will take that secret to your grave!" Vicky growled. "_Ozaius Handius."_

Vicky's hands got immediately engulfed in flames. Lila, in a hurry, grabbed her basket and called Spunky to follow her, the girl and dog dashing away with Vicky in literally hot pursuit.

"**I'll get you, Twerpette, and your little dog too!**" Vicky yelled while throwing fireballs at Lila and Spunky. The rest of the castle's servants arrived when hearing the scandal and ran away when seeing Vicky at her most furious.

Lila and Spunky hide inside the first open room she could find… that happened to be Vicky's weaponry room, where Francis was currently working, giving maintenance to Vicky's 'toys' as part of the punishment he still was suffering for his last failure.

"Hey, what are you doing here?" Francis growled, the gray guy holding an axe.

Vicky appeared on the door, growling furiously.

"**Hold her still, Francis; help me finish this gal and your punishment is over."**

"No, Francis, wait..." Lila tried to reason with the guy but, unfortunately, Francis happened to be one of the very few of Vicky's servants that enjoyed obeying some of her orders, especially those involving hurting others, and Francis was either too stupid or violent to really care about the blessing mark, so now Lila and Spunky were dodging the axe along with the fireballs. Soon it was too much for them, and they got cornered, with Vicky and Francis slowly approaching them. The only way out was a window, but it was too high for Lila to reach and it also was the opposite side of the room.

"Heh, time to finish this, Twerpette." Vicky grinned, having her fireballs ready and then realizing she could use Francis to eliminate Lila, so any revenge from Maria would fall on the grey brute. "Okay, Francis. This is it; complete the mission you failed, and your punishment will be over; in fact, I'll even reward you. To quote another evil ruler… **Off with her head!**"

"Oh, perfect." Francis smirked while raising the axe, ready to chop Lila and Spunky at once.

"Heh, this will also be a nice lesson for all the Twerps that even think about finishing me." Vicky smirked in anticipation while Spunky cringed and Lila closed her eyes.

**WHACK!**

**CLANG!**

"**OW!" **Francis shook his hands in pain, dropping the axe in front of himself and almost chopping his own feet in the process. Vicky gasped when seeing Francis' hands were hit by another of her weapons, a sack with doorknobs she used to whack her servants.

"You want a lesson? I have a few."

Vicky and Francis turned to look at the room's door, and Lila opened her eyes and beamed when seeing a slightly dented yet very welcomed metal girl standing there.

"Number one; next time you throw me into a hole, better get sure I can't get out." Jenny said while throwing another weapon, a mace, that Vicky stopped mid-air with a double fireball attack while Francis moved aside, ignoring his pain and trying to get another weapon.

"Number two." Jimmy, his clothing slightly ripped yet otherwise mostly fine, jumped from behind Vicky. "Never underestimate the little ones, especially if they're much more than you!"

After saying this, several mice jumped out of Jimmy's body, and charged at the witch and her grey servant. Vicky couldn't incinerate them since she had to keep her hands up and pointing at Jenny to block the weaponry she was throwing, and Francis couldn't reach any weapon as the mice were now climbing up his legs, the guy now trying to get rid of them.

"And three..." Jenny grinned while morphing her hands into axes. "You are gonna need new locks for your cage."

Vicky wide-opened her eyes in realization and yelped when a certain feline jumped through the window, roaring and charging at both her and Francis.

"**NO! HELP!" **Francis, being terrified of Chuckie, tried to run away, but, in his panic, only succeeded in colliding with a wall and knocking himself out.

Vicky, furious, shot more fireballs, this time aimed at both Chuckie and Jenny, recognizing them as the main physical threat. The lion and the metal girl, however, managed to cover up, ironically, behind Vicky's own weaponry, that included some 'iron maidens' (coffin-like boxes with nails inside) and a torture table where Vicky at times strapped her victims to torture them. Using these as coverage, Jenny and Chuckie threw every single weapon they could grab, and Vicky was so distracted by covering up herself, and trying to burn the mice that were running around her, that she didn't notice Jimmy sneaking aside her and getting to Lila and Spunky.

"We must take you out of here, Lila. We can't defeat the witch, just get her distracted… we'll escape and come with some other plan later." Jimmy informed her.

"Wait, we have a way to defeat her. She's ever so weak against water!" Lila said out-loud while putting back the shoe Spunky had been carrying. Vicky overheard this and gasped.

"You… nobody else will ever know that!" Vicky growled and got ready to blast both her and the scarecrow, but the mice stopped her by starting to climb up her legs, so Jimmy, Lila and Spunky could run out of the corner.

"Enough of this! _Headius Gaggius!" _Vicky transformed her head into a ferocious wild cat's, scaring the mice away. "And now you… OW!"

Vicky grunted when getting hit by a mace.

"Why you... ARGH!" Vicky was now hit by a mallet.

"I'm so gonna...Uh, oh."

**CRASH!**

Jenny and Chuckie, working together, managed to throw a huge and quite heavy iron maiden at Vicky, smashing her against a wall while the coffin-like torture device kept her pinned down. The group then ran out of the room, following Lila's lead, who knew exactly where to go.

Vicky, literally erupting in flames, blasted the iron maiden away, and, after seeing the damage this battle caused to her precious torture devices, ran out of the room, her hands aflame, and moving much faster than a normal human.

"**I'M GONNA BURN YOU ALL ALIVE! AND I'LL MAKE MYSELF A NEW SET OF WEAPONS WITH YOUR SKIN, METAL GIRL!"**

"Next time I agree on attacking a witch, can any of you talk me out of it?" Chuckie said to his friends as they continued running through the corridors.

"We're almost there… just a bit more..." Lila then had an idea and started yelling "**The witch's weakness is water! The witch's weakness is water!" **over and over again.

Vicky, hearing this, accelerated her pace, now knowing at which corridor she had to go; she was also getting even more furious, since Lila's yelling was now surely being heard by all the castle's servants. If any of them managed to escape and tell this to others, Vicky's weakness would become common knowledge.

"**Argh! I'll need to destroy every single person in this castle! YOU KNOW HOW HARD IS TO FIND DECENT SLAVES THESE DAYS?"** Vicky finally found the right corridor and charged at the room Lila and her friends had entered. "**YOU WILL ALL..."**

Vicky froze on the spot when seeing her potential prey holding buckets of water; the witch then realized that Lila took them to the laundry room. And since Lila was supposed to wash a lot of clothes that day, she had carried loads of water earlier that morning.

"Ready… Set… WATER!"

Vicky yelled in agony and fear as she tried to avoid the water attack; she managed to dodge most of the water but enough of the liquid fell on her to cause intense pain. Vicky then tried to summon another fireball but Chuckie threw a bucket of water at her hands, both extinguishing the fire and hurting her even more.

"**NO! I'M MELTING! I'M MELTING!" **

Vicky ran away, with her victims becoming her hunters, chasing after her and carrying water buckets. At this point, Vicky's skin had started melting, and her whole body was getting slowly vaporized.

"Vicky, give up, and we'll not hurt you!" Lila, still hating the idea of permanently finishing Vicky, made a last attempt of solving this in relative peace.

"**No! I'll never give up! I'll be back! You'll never catch me alive! I'll be your worst nightmare! You'll feel the power of the dark side! You will… hear more quotes when I get them!" **Vicky finally found the castle's main door and ran out, gasping when seeing several of her servants holding various recipients with water.

"No, we'll get you!" Timmy, the one leading the charge, threw a glass of water at Vicky, who jumped back to dodge it yet still got her feet soaked when the glass broke, and the rest of her servants continued with the attack, all of them soaking her to various degrees. The witch was now panicking, and did it even more when seeing Lila and her friends getting out of the castle.

"I… I must escape!" Vicky started running away, with everyone throwing water at her. She still managed to throw a few small fireballs that kept the crowd at a distance, this being the only thing that stopped them from soaking her in masse. After running for several minutes, Vicky no longer had any strength left.

"I… need… to… hide…" The witch saw what seemed to be a dark, deep hole right ahead, and grinned. "YES, I CAN HIDE THERE!"

"**Vicky, no, wait!"** Lila yelled, trying to make Vicky hear her over the crowd's noise. "**You can't hide in there! That is..."**

Vicky didn't hear the girl, and jumped inside the hole.

"... the well where we take the water from."

**AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!**

**FWOOOOOSH!**

Everybody jumped back when a huge vapor blast was shot out of the well, similar to a geyser. A moment later, Vicky's hat, that had been expelled by the vapor, landed next to the well.

"You think that…" Chester asked AJ.

"Yeah… it's a shame." AJ looked down before grinning. "But, aside the fact this well's water is no longer drinkable… **SHE'S FINALLY GONE!"**

Immediately, the crowd started celebrating the witch's defeat, while Lila sighed sadly.

"It didn't have to end like this."

"Well, she didn't leave us with any other option." Jimmy said to her, comforting the girl.

"Yeah.. and, if I can be a bit heartless… yeah, I know, I had to say it… this means we completed our mission." Jenny pointed out.

The rest of the group got a light smile each. Jenny was right; the witch was gone for good.

The wizard would grant their wishes now.

**X-X-X-X-X-X**

(This chapter, mostly, has references to the 'Fairly Oddparents' series, including the 'head gag' from the show's intro, with Vicky getting her face transformed into assorted stuff; and, as usual, the chapter includes references to several other series. Also, the witch's demise, of course, was changed to make it more action-packed and to include more characters, while still making some references to the original story, like the witch's using a magical trick to get one of the slippers.)


	9. Discovering The Truth

Chapter 9 - Discovering the truth.

After the witch's defeat, all her former slaves organized a quick celebration to honor their heroes; the one exception were those like Francis, who were now either getting jailed or trying to escape Vicky's lands due to their willing association with the witch. While the party's preparations were made, Jimmy's clothing (that formed a good portion of his body) was properly patched and sewed back together by several tailors while Jenny was attended by some blacksmiths, that finished repairing her and then polished the metal girl's body. After her crash-landing, Jenny was temporarily deactivated, but her back-up system kicked in after a couple of days, and, after recovering conscience, the girl spend a whole week repairing herself until she was well enough to climb out of the chasm. It was then when she found the mice, or more precisely, they found her.

While Lila fulfilled her duties as Vicky's servant, the girl remembered how Pip had commented that mice could be found almost anywhere, and, in such a large castle, with several possible hiding places, and being the one place in Vicky's kingdom with a regular food source, Lila had little problems finding some rodents to ask for help. The redhead asked them to tell Pip, and therefore every mouse in a several miles' radius, to search for the girl's missing friends; since Vicky still performed her surveillance routine, and the witch already knew about Lila and company getting the mice's help previously, the rodents could only search at night since, even if Vicky (magical telescope and all) would still have problems seeing them searching around, she'd definitely notice the metal girl and the scarecrow getting assistance.

The mice found Jenny once she left the chasm and, later, the metal girl and the mice found Jimmy, with Jenny managing to climb him down from the trees and the mice collecting enough straw and some cords and old clothing that Jenny could use to refill the scarecrow and repair his very damaged clothing; it wasn't the best work but it was good enough to keep Jimmy's body in one piece. After doing this, Jenny and Jimmy, with the mice's help, managed to get to the castle, again, moving mostly at night, with the rodents acting as messengers between them and Lila and Chuckie. At the time Vicky was setting up her trap, a mouse was informing Lila that her friends were sneaking inside the castle via some old entrances the servants rarely used, and that they were already working on a plan to release her and the lion; this same mouse also informed the scarecrow and metal girl, in a hurry, when Vicky finally lost any restrain she had about hurting Lila, prompting them to jump into action, rescue Chuckie, and then go save Lila, resulting on Vicky's extermination.

"I still can't believe we no longer have to obey that wicked witch." Timmy commented to his friends as they helped set up some decorations and prepare a large banquet.

"Yes. It will be a nice change not being forced to eat garbage..." AJ was cut by Chester.

"... and eat it willingly!" Chester grinned while eating some bread he found under a table. AJ and Timmy rolled their eyes at their friend's antics and continued with the preparations.

Meanwhile, while Jimmy and Chuckie supervised Francis' imprisonment, Lila, in Spunky's company, was at Vicky's chambers, looking for some of the oils she put on the witch's room. The girl figured that, since Vicky used these to clean up herself, they would be useful to polish Jenny, plus the metal girl probably would enjoy drinking them. As she was about to leave, Lila gave a quick look to Vicky's wardrobe; the redhead remembered how hard it was for her to clean up Vicky's outfits, and correctly deduced the clothes were probably water-resistant, explaining why Vicky used a traditional witch outfit instead of a more comfortable one, like Mrs Maria's; obviously, they weren't 100% water proof, but this little protection probably would have saved Vicky from being destroyed by small amounts of water unless getting wet on her unprotected areas or getting fully soaked. Lila then noticed the cap Vicky used to call the anti-fairies, of course, the girl didn't know it was a magical device yet.

"Mmm… maybe I should ever-so bring this, as another evidence of the witch's... defeat." Lila, a bit hesitantly, grabbed the cap and, out of curiosity, tried it on. The moment she put it on her head, Maria's blessing activated again, this time not for protection but to inform Lila of the cap's nature. When her forehead stopped glowing, Lila knew not just what the cap was for, but also the spell to summon the anti-fairies.

"Mmm... wonder what my friends will think when I tell them about this cap."

- x- - x- x - x-

"**BURN IT!" **Jenny, Jimmy and Chuckie chorused while backing away from the cap, that Lila was currently holding with both hands. The group was at the castle's main room, about to join the former slaves in their celebration.

"Sorry, Lila, but we would all be much more comfortable if we never see an anti-fairy again." Chuckie pointed out.

"I know… but we have to get some proof for the wizard, right? Something that shows we really... got rid of the witch." Lila continued. "Yes, we have her hat, but the wizard can think we just stole some of Vicky's clothing, while this cap…"

"It's so valuable and special that it's obvious the only way to get it from Vicky is if she's no longer around." Jimmy concluded. "Mmm… okay, guess we should keep it. Besides, it would be very dangerous if someone else gets a hold on the cap and calls the anti-fairies to do some evil thing."

Jenny sighed and nodded in agreement. Chuckie groaned, still not happy with the idea, yet nodded after a few seconds. Lila then put the cap in her magical basket, and the group joined the party.

After a while, Lila and company were quite happy and comfortable among all the party-goers. Lila couldn't help but compare this with Arnold's open parties, where pretty much the whole neighborhood was invited; considering Vicky had been torturing and terrorizing these persons for several years now, Lila wasn't surprised when hearing the festivities would last for several days.

Of all of Lila's friends, Jenny seemed to be enjoying the party the most. She had been perfectly repaired by the kingdom's best blacksmiths and crafters, and she was showing her gratitude by spending time and learning to have fun with them. Her mother had given her a teenager's basic knowledge and psychological needs, so hanging around with people that acted her age and enough social interaction were two needs that she was finally fulfilling. Also, the villagers were amazed at Jenny's abilities and strength; to them, she was a mix of a witch and a normal person, having above-normal capacities yet still being close-to-earth like a normal person. After a whole day of partying, Timmy, AJ and Chester approached Jenny and her friends to speak in private.

"You see, Jenny, we... well, we need a ruler, and we're offering you the job." Timmy told the very surprised metal girl. "We already discussed this with the rest of the people, and they all agree."

"What? But I have no experience or training for that job." Jenny replied.

"Like most people that end ruling." Chester chuckled. AJ rolled his eyes and continued.

"Vicky ruled over us for many years, and we now have no idea about how to govern ourselves. Sure, we can try electing a mayor or something, and this kingdom has many low-power officers that used to handle mundane stuff for Vicky, but we need a figurehead. Someone we can all respect and follow."

"Like, for example, one of the girls that got rid of Vicky." Timmy added. "And we know Lila can't stay with us because she wants to return home… and, well, it seems all of us are kinda used to get orders from a gal."

"And you already told us that you are often careful to avoid being cruel by accident. After being Vicky's slaves, that's exactly what we want." Chester grinned.

Jenny was speechless now. Jimmy was the next to encourage her.

"Your mother wanted you to be a useful, productive society's member. You'd be fulfilling her wishes."

Jenny then turned at Lila and Chuckie, who nodded and smiled at her.

"Okay... and now I remember I'd been considering moving to some dry place where I don't get rusty so easily… And I kinda like the people here… or I think I like them." Jenny sighed before turning at Timmy and company. "That's exactly the problem I have now; I am heartless."

"So, Vicky's condition wasn't unique?" AJ arched an eyebrow.

"No, I'm literally heartless. And as you know, a ruler needs a heart, so he/she can rule with both smarts and compassion. In fact, I came here to battle the witch on first place to gain me a chance to get a heart from The Wizard of Nick." Jenny told them. The three boys nodded at each other before looking back at her.

"Well, we can have the officers to handle stuff around here while you get your heart." Timmy offered. "It's not as if this kingdom will disappear in two days or anything like that."

"Don't tempt destiny." AJ and Chester chorused at the pink hatted boy.

"Mmm... okay, I accept the job." Jenny smiled at the trio. A moment later, they told the rest of the people, all of them chorusing wildly at their new governor.

"Whoa. From being stuck as a forest statue to ruling a country-kingdom-whatever... Heh, talking about progressing in life." Jenny chuckled a bit before her friends congratulated her, and they all rejoined the party.

- x - -x- -x -

After two days of participating in the party, and another day to rest and recover, the group finally left the castle, where the celebration was continuing. Since they no longer had to guess where to go, they moved much faster than before; however, the western's environment wasn't cooperating at all, with strong winds alternating with burning sunlight, delaying them a lot. After 2 days, Jimmy proposed something.

"I might hate myself in the morning... but maybe we should call the anti-fairies so they can carry us to Emerald City. That way we'll return much faster." Jimmy said while removing a fair amount of sand from his shoes. The others, obviously, didn't like the idea that much, even if they knew Jimmy was probably right.

"I don't know... It wouldn't be nice to be dropped again." Jenny groaned while taking an oily drink. "But I see your point… my joints have more sand than oil."

"I don't think it's such a good idea… but I also want to get my Courage as soon as I can, so… fine, go ahead." Chuckie sighed.

Lila looked down at Spunky, the poor dog panting and overheating. The girl nodded at her friends and took out the magical cap; she put it on and chanted the spell.

"With that language, I'm not sure if she's really calling the anti-fairies or the pizza guy." Chuckie arched an eyebrow.

Once Lila finished, the skies darkened, and soon they were all surrounded by the anti-fairies; Jimmy, Jenny and Chuckie got close together for comfort and protection... mostly Chuckie, who was cowering behind the other two.

"Hello, Clarice..." Anti-Cosmo stopped. "Uh… whoa, Vicky, you lost weight; and you got plastic surgery. Not bad."

"Uh, Sir, I'm not Vicky." Lila pointed out.

"Lucky you." Anti-Cosmo chuckled. "I'm just messing with you. I know Vicky no longer can summon us. By the way, where's that witch?"

"She's now at that great Halloween party up there." Jenny pointed up before getting a thoughtful expression and pointing down. "My mistake. She's most surely down there."

"Hah! Really? The witch is dead?" Anti-Cosmo chuckled.

"Uh... we prefer to say… eliminated, or no longer around." Lila pointed out.

"Tomato, tomatoe." Anti-Cosmo smirked. "And you guys did it... heh, you're not as useless as you seem. Then again, nobody can be that useless."

"Now it's confirmed that I have no brain; I was the one thinking about calling you." Jimmy groaned, regretting his decision.

"Don't be so harsh with yourself, Straw-for-Neurons. After all, who doesn't want having lots of magical beings for assistance in an emergency?" Anti-Cosmo grinned while flying around the group. "So, you know the rules; whoever uses that magical cap can summon us in three different occasions, and we're obliged to obey. So, go ahead, Twit. Shoot."

"Uh… my first wish is ever so simple… You see, we have to go to Emerald City, and there are no roads, so… can you ever so carry us there, please?" Lila asked, so politely it surprised the anti-fairy.

"Mmm… you said 'Please'... much more polite than most of our previous masters. Okay, sure, no problem." Anti-Cosmo nodded.

"Oh, and no dropping us, or hurting us in any way, please." Chuckie added, gulping, while Lila nodded in confirmation.

"Don't be so resentful, Messy Mane. Sure, we had fun messing with you guys, but we were obeying orders; if Lila here wants us to transport you safely, you can be sure you'll all have a safe trip." Anti-Cosmo informed them. Once they felt a bit more comfortable around the anti-fairies, the group was carried by them, and soon they were flying to Emerald City, and in fact Jimmy and Jenny were enjoying the views, while Spunky was just looking around with his goofy expression, Chuckie was closing his eyes, and Lila was trying to distract herself so she wouldn't get nauseous.

"Uh… eh... Anti-Cosmo, Sir, may I chat with you while you carry us to the city?" Lila asked the anti-fairies' leader, who was flying ahead of those transporting her.

"Sure, no problem. I miss some intelligent conversation." Anti-Cosmo said before rolling his eyes to look at Anti-Wanda, who was eating a sandwich… she was holding with her feet. "Really, I need it. I adore my wife, but she's such a twit..."

"Oh...okay, thanks. Mmm… can you tell me why you anti-fairies have to obey whoever uses this cap?" Lila asked. Anti-Cosmo groaned a bit but started replying.

"Well, the whole story started a few centuries ago. As you might already deduce, we, anti-fairies, are the counterparts of normal fairies. While they are happy granting wishes and making people happy, we, anti-fairies, get our kicks from messing around with others and playing all kind of pranks..."

_**FLASHBACK.**_

"_**Anyway, most fairies are small and their power levels are similar to ours, but there are exceptions. The main ones being Jorgen Von Strangle, the strongest fairy of them all..."**_

_**The scene now shows a huge, muscular male fairy, armed with a large staff-magic wand, and dressed in military style.**_

"_**... and The Tooth Fairy; she's around the same size as the average human woman, and she's very attractive by human and fairy standards; also so powerful she can actually go to non-magical realms without her powers being affected."**_

_**The scene now shows a beautiful, light bluish-green haired female fairy, with a white and gold outfit, and a golden crown with a very big tooth on top.**_

"_**Jorgen and The Tooth Fairy fell in love, so they decided to get married. However, when we, the anti-fairies, hear about this, we couldn't resist and decided to play a few pranks on the happy couple."**_

_**Now there's a montage of assorted calamities and not-exactly-accidental incidents happening to both Jorgen and the Tooth Fairy, like his groom clothing getting eaten by moths, the wedding cake exploding, a literal mountain of mud falling on top of the bride, the best man getting chased by a wolverine, Jorgen's pants disappearing as he waited his bride at the aisle and so.**_

"_**Guess we went a bit too far that time. Jorgen got so furious that he leaded a massive attack against us, and he and his fairies captured all of us. At first, he wanted to imprison us for life… and we're basically immortal, so you can imagine how scared we were… until the Tooth Fairy, who was very angry too but, luckily, is much more compassionate than Jorgen, came with an alternate punishment. "**_

_**The scene now shows Jorgen and the Tooth Fairy talking with a fez-wearing, tanned male genie and a green skinned, harem-style clothing curvy female one, and, once the fairy couple sign a contract with the genies, the foursome combine powers to create the magical cap.**_

"_**With the help of other magical beings, the genies, she and Jorgen created a device, the cap, that would work similarly to a genie's lamp, with the specifications you already know. For a couple of centuries, The Tooth Fairy was the one in possession of the cap, and only used the wishes to keep us from messing up with others; once she used the three wishes, Jorgen became our master… not a nice decade for us, I can tell you... and, when he used the last wish, he got rid of the cap."**_

_**The scene now shows Jorgen placing the cap next to an old road. He then hides, and a random peasant that happens to be walking there sees the cap and picks it up.**_

_**END FLASHBACK.**_

"The rest, of course, is history. The cap went from one master to another; some used our powers for good, others for evil, and others were too scared of magic to use the cap, so they hide, tried to destroy, or sold it to some other person." Anti-Cosmo frowned a bit. "And of course, the last master/mistress before you was Vicky."

"The first time she summoned us, she conquered the western area in a snap; we attacked at dawn, and the place was hers to take before lunch. As for the second time, The Wizard of Nick himself organized an army to liberate the western area from Vicky's clutch; again, she used us to win this war... Maybe the wizard himself could be a problem for us, but I suppose that this disastrous military campaign convinced him that a massive armed liberation/occupation would have many civilian victims and collateral damage, and same with a magical attack, so Vicky could rule unopposed for a very long time, the war also dissuading the good witches from trying a similar action. And the third and final one, well, you know what happened; now I think about it, this is possibly why the Wizard decided to take her down with a small attack force, namely you and your friends, to avoid the massive damage that would come from a more open, larger invasion, plus, in case he knows about the cap, he'd be forcing her to use the final wish and therefore losing her main attack force."

Lila nodded in agreement, realizing Anti-Cosmo made a good point. Sending a small attack force, including a girl (Lila herself) that had already finished a witch (even if it was by accident) was probably the best option the Wizard had to defeat Vicky for good; Lila hated the idea of being used this way, but considering the Wizard's position, it was hard to blame him. Jimmy, who was getting carried not far from Lila, heard the story as well, also, unknowingly for them both, agreeing with Lila's thoughts.

"Hey, look, Emerald City is right ahead." Jenny pointed out. As she said, they were almost at the city now.

" Mister Anti-Cosmo, can you and your anti-fairies please GENTLY get down and drop us here?" Lila decided to be very explicit with the request. "If you already battled the Emerald City's people in the past, they might fear all of you arriving at once. They'd think it's an invasion."

"It would be fun to see their faces." Anti-Cosmo grinned but then shrugged and told the anti-fairies to do as Lila ordered them. Soon, the whole group was safely on land.

"Thanks for the ride, Mister Anti-Cosmo." Lila said gently while AC got a little grin as the redhead's friends also thanked him and the other anti-fairies, now even Chuckie feeling better with them around.

"As much as I like getting respected, drop the 'Mister' and 'Sir', can you? It makes me feel even older… and I'm already a centuries-old magic being." The anti-fairy pointed before he and his people started leaving. "And remember, you can only use the cap other two times. You can order us to do almost anything, but, if I might make a suggestion, try to keep it simple if you can; we are better at carrying or destroying things than creating or repairing them. See you, Clarice… Heh, I love saying that."

The magical swarm left almost as quickly as they had arrived. Since the group was now close to the farms around Emerald City, they could see several farmers looking up at the retreating anti-fairies, and many of them had frightened expressions. Lila and company had to calm them down while they walked to the city's doors.

Unlike the first time, Sheen and Carl, obviously recognizing the group, let them in almost immediately, and when Libby arrived to take them to the Wizard's castle, they had to remind Sheen of his guarding duties, since the hyperactive guy was eager to ask them about every single detail of their adventure. Like before, Cindy received them at the palace, and took them to the 'waiting room' while she went to tell the Wizard that they had arrived and had been successful in their mission.

"Oh, this is ever-so exciting." Lila was so happy that she just couldn't sit down, instead pacing back and forth while playing with Spunky. "I'll soon return home with my father."

"And I'll have my brain." Jimmy was just as eager. "I'll finally be able to think as much as I want."

"And I'll finally have a heart." Jenny looked up. "And I'll have someplace to put all this happiness I'm somehow-feeling."

"And I'll stop being a spineless scaredy-cat; a cowering chicken; a frightened feline; a gutless geek; a weak wimp…" Chuckie stopped talking when his friends gave him an amused look. "Heh, sorry. Guess I'm a bit too excited now."

"That, and it's ever so obvious that you have no phobia of alliterations." Lila giggled a bit.

Cindy returned at this moment, and she didn't look that happy. The group noticed immediately.

"Uh, Cindy, it takes no genius to realize something's wrong." Jimmy pointed out.

"Yes, it's obvious since you noticed it." Cindy sighed. "Sorry if it sounded like an insult..."

"No problem." Jimmy shrugged.

"... but… well, I just told the Wizard that you guys returned… and that you accomplished your mission…"

"And..?" Jenny arched a non-existent eyebrow.

"And... he said he can't attend you now." Cindy groaned. "He wants me to give you an appointment for some other day."

"Which day?" Jimmy asked, not liking how this was going.

"February 30th."

"In the morning or in the afternoon..." Chuckie stopped talking and gasped in realization. "**WHAT?"**

"You can't be serious!" Jenny, like the rest of the group, was visibly shocked. Even Spunky, who couldn't care less about his residence place, wide-opened his eyes at this.

"I'm not laughing." Cindy looked down, obviously not liking this at all. "And I think he was serious too. He said... he needed time to think…"

"We were gone for weeks!" Lila exclaimed. "How much time does he need to think? Please, Cindy, he has to reconsider..."

"Yeah, we fulfilled our end of the deal. Now it's his turn!" Chuckie pointed out.

"I know, and you must be very upset about this..."

"More than just 'upset'." Jenny frowned.

"... but... I don't see how to make you get an early appointment." Cindy finished, rubbing the back of her neck. Jimmy frowned a bit but then brightened.

"Tell the Wizard that, if he doesn't see us right away, and I mean all of us, at once, we're gonna bring the proof of Vicky's defeat." Jimmy said while pointing at the magical cap Lila had placed on a nearby table. "In other words, we'll call the anti-fairies to his city!"

Jimmy's friends stared in shock at him while Cindy frowned.

"You're threatening an almighty wizard with one of the very few things he has problems dealing with..." Cindy got a sly smirk. "For a brainless guy, that's pretty clever. Okay, I'll tell him. Just give me a few minutes."

Cindy left in a hurry, still smirking, as she obviously was on the group's side in this matter.

"I don't know if I feel good bullying someone, Jimmy." Lila told the scarecrow once the porcelain girl left.

"Well, I don't like it too, Lila, honest, but we have full right to be attended. Basically, we're making a business deal with the Wizard; we did our part, and now he has to pay us." Jimmy pointed out.

"Guess there's no use in arguing about this since Cindy already went to tell him." Jenny added.

"I just hope he doesn't just disappear the cap, and then turn us into chickens or something like that." Chuckie groaned. "I'm already halfway there."

The group stayed in silence, waiting for Cindy to return. To calm their nerves, or, more precisely, to do something and convince themselves they're not losing their time, they decided to go to the wizard's tower and wait at the stairway for Cindy's response. The porcelain girl walked downstairs right when they were arriving.

"He said he'll receive you all now." Cindy informed them, the girl conserving her grin.

To accelerate things, Chuckie carried Jimmy on his back while Jenny did the same with Lila and Spunky, Cindy now needing to walk much faster to keep up with them as they went upstairs. The porcelain gal stayed silent the whole time, still grinning but also getting a slightly concerned expression. Once they arrived to the door, and Jenny and Chuckie gently dropped their friends, they waited for Cindy to open it; unlike the previous occasions, this time the wizard wasn't opening them.

"Whoa. He must be kinda moody right now." Jenny commented. Cindy opened the door and, as usual, stayed outside while the group entered, the door closing by its own once they were in.

"Okay, Mister Wizard..." Jimmy was directing to the throne and stopped when realizing it was empty; no person, monster, head or whatever on it. "Hey, where is he?"

"Uh, maybe he went to the bathroom?" Chuckie shrugged.

"What's he doing there... don't answer." Jenny stopped herself as she and Jimmy started looking around the room, and Lila and Spunky got closer to the throne, the dog sniffing it while Lila walked around the seat. Chuckie looked up, thinking the wizard had probably morphed into some flying or wall-crawling creature.

"Mister Wizard? Hello?" Lila raised her voice a bit. "Are you here?"

"**YES, I AM!"**

Everyone jumped (Chuckie did it on Jenny's arms) when hearing the sorcerer's thundering voice, that seemed to come out of everywhere and nowhere at once. The trembling lion was the first one to speak.

"M-Mister Wi-Wi-Wi-..."

"**DON'T SPEAK FRENCH HERE! Nothing against them, of course, I like their fries and their pastries... BUT I DON'T SPEAK THE LANGUAGE, SO DROP IT!"**

On a perfect cue, Jenny dropped Chuckie, the metal girl frowning while looking up.

"I'm okay, thanks for asking. Ouch." The lion rubbed his butt while Jenny gave him an apologetic look and Jimmy looked around, the scarecrow now visibly upset.

"Okay, Mister Great and Powerful, where are you?"

"**I'M NOWHERE AND EVERYWHERE! Yes, I'm that cool." **The voice chuckled before getting his more serious tone again. **"I KNOW THE SCARECROW IS BRAINLESS, BUT REALLY, YOU FORGET I'M A WIZARD? IT'S IN MY TITLE, DUH!"**

"So... you're invisible?" Lila guessed, getting closer to her friends while looking around.

"**Don't you see that you don't see me? OF COURSE!" **The Wizard's thunderous voice now scared Lila and Spunky as much as it did with Chuckie; the little dog actually ran under the throne for hiding… and Chuckie didn't follow after him only because it was a very small space.

"O-okay… b-but… still… Sir, we did as you said." Lila said while holding the cap and extending her arms so the Wizard could see it from wherever he was. "This is Vicky's magical cap. She used it to control the anti-fairies."

"**Mmm…Vicky wouldn't let you leave her lands with something that important unless she was really… well... pushing up daisies; taking the dirt nap; sleeping with the fish; ten feet under…"**

"Yes, yes, we got it. We were there, Sir." Jenny frowned.

"**Okay... Now, tell me, what's that important secret that even I, the Great and Powerful Wizard of Nick didn't know? What was her weakness? Burning her in a stake? That's a classic. Or crushing her with a house? That's the girl's style. Or the lion ate her?"**

"I don't eat junk food." Chuckie frowned.

"No, Sir, her weakness was water." Jimmy interrupted the Wizard's guesses.

"**Water? Boiling one, right?"**

"No. Normal water. It melted her." Lila said, feeling a bit guilty since it was her who discovered how to destroy the witch.

"**Wow. So, the witch was just for dry-cleaning. Interesting. Ehem… anyway... I NEED TIME TO THINK ABOUT THIS AND RECONSIDER YOUR REQUESTS!"**

"But you already had a lot of time for that." Jimmy reminded him.

"**Truth be said, even I, The Great and Powerful Wizard of Nick, didn't think you'd survive this, so I kinda... forgot about the whole thing."**

"Well, I want a heart!" Jenny was now getting visibly angry.

"And I want a brain!" Jimmy added in a similar tone.

"And I want courage!" Chuckie forgot about his fear for a moment and actually growled a bit.

"And I want to get back home!" Lila joined her friends.

"**AND I WANT YOU TO BE QUIET! YOU ARE LUCKY I AM EVEN CONSIDERING FULFILLING THESE REQUESTS! MY AGENDA IS FULL! YOU SHOULD BE THANKFUL I'M NOT TELLING YOU TO GET LOST, OR DISAPPEARING ALL OF YOU WITH A SNAP OF MY FINGERS!"**

The voice was now extremely furious, and even Jenny and Jimmy were getting afraid. Spunky couldn't take it anymore and started looking for a way out, scratching on the walls and floor… until he, by accident, pushed a hidden button that revealed a secret room. The group saw this, and then, following after Spunky, entered the room while the Wizard continued lecturing and threatening them.

"**AND SOMETHING ELSE... THE LION OWES ME A NEW DOOR! MAYBE I SHOULD MAKE YOU WORK YOUR DEBT OFF BEFORE CONSIDERING GIVING YOU COURAGE!" **

When entering the room, they could hear the Wizard's voice in two tones at once; the thunderous one, and a more normal-volumed one. They saw a large purple curtain, and Lila pulled it aside, revealing a large guy covered in bright, green clothing, talking at what seemed to be a series of tubes and looking through a periscope that, apparently, allowed him to see inside the Wizard's room… and, most surprisingly, this guy was a black and white steer.

"And about the rest of you… Wait, where are you? You left the room without telling? What..." The steer stopped talking when realizing he had company. He then gulped and closed the curtain. "And ignore the cow-bull-whatever thing behind the curtain!"

The group opened the curtain again. None of them looked happy.

"And. Who. Are. You?" Jenny crossed her arms.

"**I'm the Great and Powerful…¦"** The steer sighed, covered the tubes and talked normally while looking down. "Wizard of Nick. Heh... ta-da?"

"You… you took the shape of a cow-bull-whatever?" Chuckie asked, as puzzled as his friends.

"Yes… since I was born… Oh, we haven't officially met, right? My name's Otis, glad to meet you all… and I think we had enough emotions for one day, so why don't we all…"

Now the whole group, even Lila, was giving him a very angry look. Otis sighed and opened another tube.

"Cindy… get over here. They found out… and it's less likely they'll make a stew out of me if I have you to hide behind."

-x-x-x-

A few minutes later, now with Cindy joining everyone, the group and the so-called Wizard, aka Otis, were at his workstation; namely, a large room hidden behind the throne room, where Otis kept all the stuff he used to simulate his magical powers.

"So... you have no powers? At all?" Jenny asked the bovine, who was now taking a sip of chocolate that Cindy brought for him.

"Well, unless you count being a talking cattle guy, but that's almost everyday stuff here, so no, no magic powers at all." Otis explained. "When I attend a visitor, I hide at the place you found me, and use the periscope to see inside the room, and those tubes to project my voice; I have the tubes all around the room so I can pretend to move around or that I'm everywhere at once. I also have a series of levers, pulleys and other things that help me manipulate the special effects… like that giant head over there."

Lila looked at the gigantic head that she saw when first visiting the 'wizard'; it was made of wood, clay and papier-machié, with some hidden cords and joints that Otis manipulated from his special room to move the head's eyes and mouth.

"Yeah, it's one of my best tricks… of course, the problem here is that I have to set up all the tricks by myself, without any help. As you can imagine, the less people, or animals, or whatever that know the secret, the best for me; that's also why I first made you all to visit me separately, and with some hours between each appointment, so I'd have time to set up every trick, since, as you already proved, a group entering at once is more likely to find out my secret than one individual at a time. And, well, as you already realized, I had to trust my secret to Cindy, of course, since she's my staff's head and most trusted advisor; I wouldn't be able to rule this city without her." Otis admitted while the group looked at the porcelain girl.

"Sorry I didn't tell you… or anyone else… But I have a very big life debt with Otis; as I already told you, he repaired me when my body got so damaged I'd have ended in the garbage can otherwise, and even made my body much stronger than before." Cindy sighed and rolled her eyes at Otis, getting a little grin. "Still, I told you; you can't trick all the people all the time."

"Well, it worked for so long, I thought it would work as usual." Otis admitted while showing the rest of his stuff to Lila and company. "For example, I used this disguise to make you, Jimmy, think I was a woman." Otis showed a large trunk filled up with assorted clothing and accessories; behind it, there was a large furry mess that Jenny recognized as the 'monster' she saw when visiting the 'wizard'.

"Yes, Jenny, that's my monster form; a bunch of old furs and assorted clothing that I made into a giant disguise. As for the fireball that the lion saw, it was this." Otis now showed them a huge cotton ball. "Only the outside is made of cotton; in the inside, it's all wired with… well, metal wire; I suspended it from the room's ceiling, and covered it with oil; then, I turned it on fire, and whenever I wanted to pretend the 'fireball' was me talking louder, I sprayed it with more oil from a hidden tube on top of the wall behind it. And of course, you all already know I have other mechanisms and tricks that help me open and close the doors and regulate the lights' intensity; usually I keep the whole room completely dark except for the area around the throne, but when I realized most of you can see in the dark, I went for the contrary solution; illuminating it so brightly you wouldn't be able to see the ropes, wires and whatever I use to manipulate my things. Plus, I have some hidden tunnels and rooms in the walls and ceiling, that help me get in position to set the tricks on place, like, for example, to hang the cotton ball from the ceiling..."

"And you probably feel so proud of yourself now." Lila was now close to sobbing. "You lied to us; you toyed with our feelings and hopes! You'd be ashamed."

"If you use your brains only to fool others, maybe I'd reconsider getting brains of my own… even if that was possible." Jimmy frowned.

"And here I thought I was the heartless." Jenny growled.

"To do this to others, you either have lots of courage or no shame at all. I think the later." Chuckie frowned as well while trying to comfort Lila.

"Come on, guys, let me explain myself… Look, I'm not a bad guy. Yes, I'm a terrible wizard, but not a bad guy. Cindy..." Otis gave the blonde a look that screamed 'help me here, please', and Cindy nodded.

"Yeah, Otis is not that bad of a guy, even if he's a chronic liar. Why don't you let him explain himself before you decide to sell him to a butcher shop?" Cindy, despite the sarcasm and low insults, was visibly worried about Otis and how the group would react after learning his secret. Lila noticed this and, being familiar with people hiding their true nature due to powerful reasons ("_Helga, you'd ever-so love this," _Lila thought) nodded at Cindy and convinced her friends to listen to Otis' side of the story. Once the 'wizard' had their attention, he told them to sit down in some boxes he had at the workstation (obviously, he had no chairs due to never receiving anyone here but Cindy until now) and started narrating his story.

"I was born in Oedeville; it's not far from Nebraska... and it's in USA, where Lila's city is too; and of course, it's very far from here. As you guys probably know already, some magic from this land occasionally leaks to the outer world and produces unexplainable stuff; at least, that's my theory behind my abilities. Animals with human-like attributes are common in Nick, but, as Lila can tell, we're a rarity everywhere else. From a young age, I realized that I was much smarter than the other animals, and by the time I stopped being a calf, I had started to walk like a human and use my front hooves as hands, plus being smart enough to realize I had to hide my abilities from people; I didn't want a scientist to cage me for life for studying, or worse, to open me up to find the secrets of my capacities and sell whatever was left as dog food."

"At the same time, even if I knew I had to keep up my secret, I also longed to enjoy and use them. I couldn't be happy just… eating grass and mooing when what I really wanted was to party with people and travel all around the world. So, over the years, I learned how to disguise myself, and used this ability to blend in with the human population and learn as much as I could while I took different jobs; as you already saw, even with a good disguise and facade, it's hard to protect a secret identity, so I was always on the run, leaving whatever job I had at the time whenever any human was getting too close to find out what I really was. I also found out that this… magic... that makes me human-like, also makes me age much slower than a normal bull, which definitely was an advantage for some of my identities."

"Anyway, I continued like this for a long time until I got a job at a circus. I started as the magician's assistant, so I learned even more tricks and illusions, and after some time, I got promoted to the hot air balloon's duties, meaning I was in charge of flying this balloon over any town the circus was visiting, and announce the people of our arrival."

"Excuse me for interrupting, but, what's a circus?" Jimmy asked.

"Oh, it's like a talents' show that travels all over a country, and sometimes the world, showing all kind of wonders and abilities. Hold on." Otis then took a piece of paper out of a nearby box; it was one of the circus' flyers, with several drawings and photos of the acts, including a shot of Otis on the balloon. While Jimmy looked at this, Otis continued with his story.

"One day, while I was flying over this nice Kansas town, a huge storm started, so suddenly, I had no time to land the balloon and get to a safe place. Before I knew it, the wind was carrying me up, up, and away; I had no way to control the balloon's flight, and soon it was so high I couldn't even see the earth, so, even if, by some miracle, I'd have managed to fly down, I risked crashing with a mountain or falling in the middle of the sea, so I stopped resisting and just allowed the wind to carry my balloon… not that I had many other options."

"Oh, my... and, weren't you frightened?" Lila, remembering her own arrival to Nick, asked Otis.

"Frightened? Child, you're talking to a guy who's laughed in the face of death, sneered at doom, and chuckled at catastrophe." Otis grinned proudly.

"So, you were petrified."

"Yes, I was." Otis nodded at Chuckie, who, unsurprisingly, was the first one to recognize how afraid Otis had been at that time. "You have no idea how relieved I was when the storm dissipated and I could see the sun again; but by then, I wasn't flying over any land I knew. I even tried to orient myself with my navigation instruments but it was no use... I was completely lost in a strange land."

"Navigation instruments?" Lila asked him.

"Yes, you see, since, as I already mentioned, over the years, many times I had to drop an identity and escape in a hurry, so I often carried some basic stuff with myself, including some clothing, tools, and even magician's equipment, so, in case I had to escape the circus to avoid getting caged as part of the freaks' show, I could hide away and earn myself a living while coming up with a new identity… and, well, the navigation instruments, I carried them with me every time I got a job in a ship or at any outdoors work, so I could find my way back to civilization in case of getting lost. Carrying all this stuff with me actually was very helpful when I finally managed to land the balloon." Otis chuckled a bit at the memories.

"As you all know (and Chuckie here is a proof), talking, intelligent, human-like animals are relatively common here, but a talking, intelligent, human-like bull coming from the skies and carrying 'magical' artifacts isn't common anywhere. I landed my balloon in a very small town called Retroville, right in the middle of this new, weird land; as I didn't know where I was, and the people started calling me a wizard, I decided to make the best out of my situation, and used my magician's equipment to pretend I was a real wizard. After a few tricks, people were convinced I really was the most powerful wizard ever... and I liked it; I liked it too much. I became Retroville's ruler, and, under my direction, the little town grew to become the Emerald City we are now. To protect my reputation and people not discovering I'm a… well…"

"A fraud?" Jenny frowned.

"An impostor?" Chuckie added.

"A humbug?" Jimmy got some arched eyebrows at this. "I read a dictionary the first time we visited."

"And you are right; that's all I am." Otis sighed. "I had to become a recluse in my own city, so nobody would spend enough time around me and realize my powers are nothing but parlor tricks and stage magic. The only ones who knew the truth were my closest advisors. You see, I'm much older than I look; over time, I've had several advisors, Cindy being the last one. Libby found her broken body some years ago, and brought her to me; the girl was pretty much begging for help and…well, I couldn't say no. Luckily, I know how to make a special glue that I use to repair and give maintenance to many of my tricks, and thanks to that I managed to do, if not a real magic miracle, a little medical one… or whatever you call a person repairing a porcelain figure."

Cindy smiled at Otis, and, for the first time since they found out the true, the requesters realized that he certainly wasn't as bad as they thought. Otis took another sip of chocolate and continued.

"As the years passed, most of those who first met me when I arrived, well... passed away; so, the newest generations didn't know the details of my arrival, and, thanks to my tricks and remaining hidden from most people, my reputation grew up, and soon everyone in Nick started thinking I was a near all-powerful wizard. This reputation also served as my one true protection against my biggest concern."

"The witches." Lila guessed.

"Correct. While I have no real magic, the witches possess extraordinary abilities, and any of them would have beaten me up, destroyed the city and hurt my people without breaking a sweat if they didn't think I was powerful enough to keep them at bay. Luckily for me, two of the four witches are good ones, and apparently they respect my job as Emerald City's ruler and the fact I receive no visits so they don't come see me in person and find out the truth; also, when I learned that Maria uses her magic to appear books and learn stuff about anything, I made my own self-biography." Otis pointed at a book Lila recognized. "'The Wizard of Nick', filled up with very colorful legends and so-called-true-facts that portray me as a very amazing wizard. You see, Maria doesn't appear the books out of thin air, but makes copies of already existing ones from assorted libraries, getting the book that works the best for any situation; since I have the one and only 'official' book about myself, that is the copy she gets every time she wants to make a point about me and my powers. Truth be said, I feel a bit guilty for tricking her this way, but I couldn't risk her coming personally and find out the truth if she couldn't get information about the 'Wizard' as she usually does."

Lila felt a bit sad about this too, remembering how Maria had told her that the Wizard would be the best opportunity for her to return home. Still, she also saw things from Otis' point of view, realizing that telling her the truth would probably mean a visit from a very enraged Plata Peligrosa. Lila, being a very honest person herself, made a mental note about thinking how to tell Maria everything without risking Otis' life, considering she owed this to the good witch. Meanwhile, Otis continued with his explanation.

"Anyway, the evil witches remained a problem, so I had to convince them I was much more powerful than them. I knew Sartana wouldn't attack my city since she was too busy with Maria keeping her at bay, and for some reason, Vicky wasn't trying to conquer the rest of Nick and… now we know it's because she felt safer ruling over Nick's driest lands... heh, if I'd known that, I'd have attacked her with water balloons; still, even if the evil witches hadn't attacked Emerald City in the past, it didn't mean they wouldn't do it in the future if Sartana had managed to destroy Maria or Vicky decided to attack the city with the anti-fairies. That's why I tried a military campaign against Vicky in the past; not my best idea, truth be told, but at least it showed her that we wouldn't be an easy prey if she tried to conquer us…"

"And you made her use one of the three times she could summon the anti-fairies." Jimmy pointed out.

"Yep; of course, I didn't know that the anti-fairies had a limited calls' contract at that time, so I feared they'd attack us under Vicky's orders at some point. In fact, many of the tricks I came up with over the years were made with Vicky and Sartana in mind, trying to find ways to intimidate them… and I admit, I was kinda happy every time anyone came for an audience and I managed to scare and impress them; if my stage magic could scare a lion, it would scare anyone else, even a witch."

"Except that it's no big deal to scare a lion that's already afraid; did I mention I'm pyrophobic?" Chuckie frowned at Otis.

"It's fine, I never judge others' religions..." Otis got interrupted by Cindy.

"It means he is afraid of fire."

"Among many other things." Chuckie groaned.

"If it makes you feel better, I'm evil-witches-phobic; I lived in deep fear of them for several years." Otis admitted. "That's why I was so happy when I knew Sartana was no longer around; one witch less to fear. And when I heard the one person responsible of destroying Sartana was here..."

"It was an accident. And it was the weather and the storage house; I didn't do ever-so a thing!" Lila groaned, obviously not happy about explaining this again.

"Still, I couldn't deny you and your friends an audience; besides the Sartana thing, you came up with Maria's blessing, and she might not be evil, but her Plata self would butcher me; literally. So, I came up with the whole 'Eliminate Vicky for Wishes' deal; it was a win-win situation for me! Either I got rid of Vicky or I could reject you without offending Maria." Otis explained.

"Just risking our necks, butts, and other body parts." Jenny frowned.

"I never said the plan was perfect." Otis rubbed the back of his neck. "And now you guys are here… and Vicky is gone… I'm in a very uncomfortable situation. It's not fair for you to have gone to do such a dangerous thing and not getting anything in return."

"Tell me about it." Jimmy sighed. "I'm gonna live and die a brainless dummy."

"Well... if I can make an observation…" Otis rubbed his chin in thought. "You seem to be very smart for a brainless guy. I mean, I was born with a brain, but even I had to get out of the farm and travel and learn for my own; otherwise, I'd have remained a simple grass-eating animal and future meatloaf. So, that might be what you need; to learn from experience and observation. You'll surely become a quite wise guy if you do that."

Jimmy was about to object when Lila placed a hand on his shoulder.

"He actually has a good point, Jimmy. Out of all of us, you're the one who pays the most attention to details, and even if you have no brain, you're very eager to learn about any and everything." Lila smiled.

"Yes, you spend most of the time here at the castle reading at the library, and you don't limit yourself to one topic or genre; you want to learn it all." Cindy added. "You compensate your lack of brains with your love for knowledge."

Jimmy now smiled at both girls while Jenny and Chuckie nodded in agreement.

"Heh... wish I could feel love…" Jenny sighed now. "But, without a heart…"

"Girl, trust me, hearts will not be perfect until they become unbreakable. And I've learned a few things from people that have loved and been loved by many; that a heart isn't as valuable from how much it loves as it is from all the love it receives from others." Otis now talked to Jenny in a very fatherly way. "And look around you; you're surrounded by people.. or whatever... that love you."

Jenny couldn't object this, as she immediately got friendly, kind smiles from Lila, Jimmy and Chuckie, and even Spunky was giving her a dopey smile while wagging his tail.

"And you have a whole kingdom that loves you." Chuckie pointed out. "And they trust you to love them back; I'm sure you can do that."

"Well… I don't know if I 'love' you guys… but I'm very sure I care about all of you. A lot." Jenny smiled. "Still, I wished I had a heart to really be sure if what I feel is love... or, if I'm already feeling it, to have a place to put it."

"Just like I wish I had a brain to put all the knowledge I get." Jimmy sighed, even if still trying to keep a good mood.

"Ah, you guys will be alright. At least you're not cowards." Chuckie shrugged.

"Now, now, Mane Guy, you're probably making a mistake here." Otis now turned at the lion. "You seem to think that being brave equals feeling no fear at all. And let me tell you something; anyone who faces danger without feeling even a bit of fear isn't brave; is irresponsible, reckless, and plain crazy. The real courage consists on facing danger even if you're terrified. And there's nothing shameful about feeling fear; everybody is afraid once in awhile… for example, I'm afraid of people knowing I'm an ox… or a hoax, but, well, both words work in this case; and I don't consider myself a coward; after all, before coming here and becoming 'The Wizard', it was me versus the world, and I wasn't doing that bad. That took some serious courage even if at times I was so afraid I wanted to run back to the barnyard and hide behind the donkeys."

Chuckie chuckled a bit at this mental image while Jimmy approached the lion.

"Otis makes a good point, Chuckie. Out of all of us, even Jenny here, you're the one who had saved the group the most times. And you've done it while being afraid."

"And you've done it even if you get hurt, I mean, I'm made of metal, and I literally feel no pain, but you know you can get injured and still do all kind of dangerous things I'd be wary about doing if I had a more sensitive skin." Jenny added.

"Heh… thanks; still, it's not nice to be afraid all the time." Chuckie smiled yet sighed a bit. "Even if it seems I can face my phobias… at least some... I wish I didn't have so many ones."

Otis looked at the group and sighed, getting a mischievous grin that Cindy knew too well.

"Okay then, since you obviously need some help, maybe I can give you guys a hand; heh, or a hoof." Otis chuckled. "Sure, I'm not a wizard, but I've played that role for such a long time I've learned a trick or two, and if I think a bit, I know I can come up with some way to help you all, or, at least, make your lives a bit easier. If I could turn a one-horse-town into a huge city, then, at least, I can give it a try to your problems."

The scarecrow, metal girl and lion smiled at this and nodded at Otis

"I'm glad you can at least try to solve these issues, but… about my wish...¦" Lila approached Otis, who lost his smile and groaned a bit.

"Yes, your wish will be the hardest one to grant. We can work on it too… but, to be honest, I can't promise anything." Otis placed his hands/hooves on Lila's shoulders. "But I can promise you I'm gonna work on this problem; all of your problems. Just… I'm gonna need a lot of help here, meaning you and your friends will need to give me a hand to make some real magic. So… wanna help me to help you?"

Lila looked up at Otis and nodded. She now trusted the huge barn animal to, at least, try to help her and her friends. The rest of the group joined them, and Otis promised to start working on ways to help them first thing in the morning, plus giving them full access to the workstation. As Otis said, the 'Great and Powerful Humbug' would need help to do real magic this time.

**X-X-X-X-X-X-X **

(And now, for this chapter's notes… Yes, even I didn't expect Jose to use Otis, from 'Back at the Barnyard' as the Wizard.) Well, I wanted to be unpredictable, Phoebe. (I realize that; still, it has certain logic. A con artist, disguises expert, smooth talker... Otis might be other species, but, personality wise, he definitely fits in the role. Also, we mentioned more FOP characters in this chapter, namely Jorgen, The Tooth Fairy and the male genie is obviously Norm, while the female one is Desire, from 'Danny Phantom'.)

(Thanks to all who have read and reviewed this story so far. More to come soon.)


	10. Wish-Granting 101

Chapter 10 - **Wish Granting 101**

The next couple of days, Otis, Cindy and the group started thinking about ways to grant the wishes, mostly by brainstorming and analyzing each problem one at a time. The third day, when Lila and company went to the workstation, Otis looked actually quite happy.

"I got it!" Otis received them. "I think I know how to start granting all the wishes."

"Really?" The group chorused at once.

"Yep. Okay, follow me here; what's our main problem to make your wishes come truth?" Otis paused. "Besides the fact I am not a real wizard, that is."

"That we're having no ideas at all." Cindy shrugged.

"Exactly. Meaning that the very first wish we need to grant is Jimmy's. If he gets a brain, he'll help us come up with ideas for the other wishes." Otis grinned before taking out a small bag. "Now… behold, the scarecrow's brain!"

"You have a BRAIN in there?" Lila gulped a bit, fearing to know how Otis got a brain for Jimmy.

"Yes, but not any brain. Jimmy is not human, so a human brain wouldn't work for him; he's filled up with straw. Therefore, his brain must be made of not-fleshy materials; I filled this sack with bran… heh, to give him some moral fiber… And I added needles and pins to give him a 'sharp' intellect."

"And to 'point' the obvious?" Chuckie rolled his eyes. "Great, I joined the joking."

"You think it will work?" Jimmy asked while looking at the sack.

"Well, we need to put it inside your head and see if it works as a brain; otherwise, it's just a sack containing some breakfast food with lots of iron." Otis shrugged. "Of course, this will make your head look a bit bigger."

"Hey, no problem with that." Jimmy smiled. "You can put it inside my head now."

"Okay; I'm no brain surgeon, but I'm no wizard either and I've done it right for a long time, so…" Otis grinned while gesturing Jimmy to sit on a nearby chair. The scarecrow did as said and Otis removed his hat; then, he untied the cords that kept Jimmy's head from losing its straw, and removed some of it to make space for the sack. Once Otis was fully sure that this procedure wasn't hurting Jimmy, he placed the sack inside and then put some straw back before closing the head again, this time sewing it with some very resistant cord plus a good piece of rope, since now Jimmy's head had to be much more securely closed to protect the brain.

"So… it's done?" Jenny asked Otis, as she and the others had stayed behind the bull while he worked.

"Yep. My best surgery so far." Otis chuckled. "Okay, Jimmy, stand up and tell me how you feel."

"Mmm… well, I'm no longer as light-headed as before." Jimmy said while standing up. "Heh… it feels weird to have something in my head besides straw."

"Okay, now, let's see if my little brainy stuff worked or if I just put a sack of cereal inside a scarecrow." Otis chuckled. "I want you to start thinking. Anything works; if you wanna think about your friends' wishes, and how to grant them, go ahead."

"Okay… time to think…" Jimmy looked at his friends, giving him encouraging faces. Jimmy closed his eyes and tightened his fists while concentrating. "Think… think… think…"

Almost instantly, and without even realizing it, Jimmy's head got filled up with images and conversations from his time with his friends, and then those images and sounds started forming thoughts.

_Lila illuminated the cabin, and got a bit surprised when finding lots of metal, wires and cables, plus assorted tools. _

"_Sadly, she didn't finish with all my parts... You see, I have no heart."_

"_And remember, you can only use the cap another two times. You can order us to do almost anything, but, if I might make a suggestion, try to keep it simple if you can; we are better at carrying or destroying things than creating or repairing them." _

"BRAIN BLAST! Whoa… I like how that sounds…" Jimmy exclaimed, quite excited. "I know how to get Jenny's heart!

"**You do?**" Everyone else chorused.

"Yes; Otis here might not have the knowledge to make a heart, but Jenny's mother was working on making her a heart-like device; if we can bring every piece of Mrs Wakeman's equipment and tools, Otis can use his expertise in mechanics and make the heart by using Jenny's mother's notes. And Lila still has two wishes left in the magical cap." Jimmy then looked at Lila. "So, you can call the anti-fairies and ask them to bring everything we need; maybe even the whole cabin."

"Yes… yes, that can help. At least it would give me something to work with. Whoa, what do you know? That brain I gave you really works!" Otis was very excited now. "Cindy, go tell the city's people that The Wizard is gonna perform a spell that will bring all the anti-fairies to Emerald City to discuss a truce; that way, they'll not get scared when a huge dark swarm appears out of nowhere… and also tell them that the anti-fairies, if accepting the truce, will return a second time to bring me some magical equipment as a gift."

Cindy nodded and left the room, giving Jimmy a 'well done' smile on her way out while the scarecrow's friends congratulated him. Otis told Lila to go to a specific terrace in another of the castle's towers, where she could make the summoning and the anti-fairies could land without problems; he also told her to wait at least 10 minutes before calling them so Cindy would have time to warn the population; it was fine for Lila, since she still had to walk down Otis' tower and then go to the other one, and this would take her more than just 10 minutes; Chuckie offered to carry her half of the way so they'd arrive faster and she wouldn't be so tired, with Jimmy, Jenny and Spunky following after them.

"Lila, I just had an idea myself… Why don't you ask the anti-fairies to take you home?" Chuckie asked the girl as they walked upstairs to the terrace.

"I thought about that myself, but Mrs Maria told me it's not easy for magical beings to get ever-so out of Nick… and maybe they can, but I didn't want to call them to find out they can't and therefore waste a wish." Lila told him.

"Still, since you're already calling them for this wish, you can ask them if they can grant the other." Jimmy pointed out. Lila turned back at him and nodded.

A few minutes later, Lila put on the cap and chanted the spell. The anti-fairies appeared in no time, obscuring the sky over the city, and making most of the citizens to get into their homes, while a few remained on the streets to see the Wizard's newest magical miracle.

"Ultra. Cool." Sheen looked up, visibly excited. "Calling a bunch of magical bad guys… that's so cool! Well done, Wizard! You're the Man!"

"This looks like a nightmare I had once, but I don't know how it ended because I woke up screaming!" Carl admitted, covering his face in fear and embarrassment. "And I had to change my underwear."

"Ugh, too much information, Carl." Libby rolled her eyes yet still looked up to watch the anti-fairies and hoping Cindy was right and this was just a peaceful visit.

Back with Lila, she was already talking with Anti-Cosmo.

"Calling us for the second wish so soon?" The anti-fairies' leader smirked. "Vicky took years to call us between wishes."

"Yes, well, I have this very important wish… in fact, two of them, but I want to ask if you can grant them before you even try." Lila told him.

"Oh, intriguing. Okay, Girl, shoot." Anti-Cosmo grinned while Anti-Wanda summoned a shield to hide behind it. "Not literally, my dear yet ignorant spouse."

Lila explained both wishes to Anti-Cosmo, who got a little grin at the first one but frowned a bit at the second.

"Well, bringing the metal girl's stuff is not hard. Just tell us where to find the house and we'll bring everything here in a few minutes." Anti-Cosmo rolled his eyes. "But the second wish…"

"It wouldn't be the third wish? I'm confused." Anti-Wanda rubbed her head in confusion.

"Mmm… it's the second wish in this 'call', while it would be third wish overall. Don't overthink it, Anti-Wanda… really, don't. You'll lose your few remaining brain cells." Anti-Cosmo then turned back at Lila. "As I was saying, no, we can't grant you the other wish; it would mean us getting out of Nick, and part of the cap's spell keeps us from invading other lands… so we can't escape and do our usual mischievous activities between calls. Well played, Tooth Fairy." Anti-Cosmo growled slightly at the last part.

"I see… Okay then, my second wish is for you to please bring all the equipment, notes and tools from Jenny's home; it's at the forest, not far from Miracle City, and aside the yellow brick road. You can't miss it; I think it's the only house in that area." Lila got interrupted by Jenny.

"Yes, it is. Also, please… can you bring my mother's pictures and other personal things? If I get a heart, I'd like to have those things to appreciate them even more." Jenny got closer to Lila and Anti-Cosmo.

"Sure, Jenny." Lila looked back at Anti-Cosmo. "Please, can you do that?"

"As I already said, it's not a problem." Anti-Cosmo grinned. "Just give us a few minutes."

"Thanks. We'll appreciate it." Lila gave him a courteous smile. Anti-Cosmo nodded and soon all the anti-fairies were gone, flying to the forest.

It didn't take a lot of time for Anti-Cosmo and company to get to the house, get everything, and return to Emerald City. The terrace was pretty big so they could leave their cargo there without problem.

"Now, remember, this is the second wish. One more call, and the cap will no longer work for you." Anti-Cosmo reminded Lila before all the anti-fairies left again, Lila and company thanking their assistance.

It took a while for Otis and the others to get all the equipment inside the castle and separate the equipment he'd need to make Jenny's heart from Mrs Wakeman's personal belongings and other things that wouldn't be needed yet Jenny wanted to conserve. Then, Otis, with Cindy and Jimmy's help, started checking all the notes, with Jenny helping them get familiar with the equipment.

"Well… the good news is that your mom had already started working on your 'feelings' circuit." Otis told Jenny. "So, we don't need to start from scratch; just finish her work. The bad news, of course, is that I'm not your mother, and that means that, even with my new assistants, it's gonna take me awhile to finish the work."

"It's fine." Jenny smiled. "I had been waiting for my heart for a long time; I can wait a bit more."

While Jenny's 'heart' was made, Otis often left Jimmy and Cindy to work on it without his assistance, so Otis could start working on solving Chuckie's issue and think about ways to solve Lila's. The bull realized that Jimmy was getting a knack for technology and manual work in general, and even made a few modifications in his own scarecrow hands, making them much more human-like and useful to manipulate small objects; Otis correctly assumed that, by letting Jimmy do a good part of the work by himself, the scarecrow would get more used to thinking, Otis' main idea behind the 'bran brain', since, obviously, he didn't know if it would work for real but it would still give Jimmy a confidence boost and make him to focus and study, exactly what Otis thought he needed on the first place.

Otis' progress with Chuckie, sadly, wasn't going that well. He considered hypnotizing him, something he had learned from his days as the circus magician's assistant, but the effect wasn't a lasting one, as he could corroborate by doing some scary stuff right after each attempt, and Chuckie jumping in fear every time. Not to mention that, for a whole day, the poor lion ended quacking like a duck whenever hearing a bell.

"This isn't working." Otis groaned as he and Lila continued checking some books while Chuckie was taking a break from his 'therapy' and helping the rest of his friends at the workstation. "I had too many jobs before coming here, but being a psychiatrist wasn't one of them… I already toyed enough with people minds. And curing Chuckie from his phobias would take a Doctor Freud, not a Doctor Fraud."

"I see what you mean." Lila sighed while putting a book aside and petting Spunky with her free hand. "The most frustrating thing is that he can be very brave, but most of the time he's just too ever-so scared to realize it."

"Yeah… Mmm… maybe I can give him a drink or two and that would make him brave…" Otis grinned a bit.

"You're not getting him drunk." Lila frowned a bit. "Besides, you really want to have a drunk lion running around the palace?"

"Good point." Otis sighed while rubbing his temples. "You know, I once worked as a bartender, and I learned to make a few drinks that could make people do the bravest things… but it was because they were too intoxicated to realize they were in danger, or just stopped caring and made no difference between kissing a girl or a rattlesnake."

Lila, obviously, didn't like either option, but Otis' comment reminded her of something that could work.

"Wait… there's this person at Hillwood, Madame Blanche, that makes potions… I once felt a bit sick and tried to buy one of her potions since it was cheaper than medicine, and she confessed that most of the potions she made were just placebo…"

"Translation, please." Otis arched an eyebrow.

"That they weren't magical potions, just stuff she made with fruit juice and other random things and told people they had some effect. I was a bit angry with her for tricking people, but apparently this works for her because people really thought the potions worked, and that made them to…"

"... react to the drink as if it was a real magical potion… Yes… I can work with that." Otis grinned. "That's a tricky idea, Lila."

"What can I say? I miss my friend Helga." Lila shrugged. "And as much as I dislike lying to Chuckie, it might be the best way to start healing him."

The rest of the day, Otis pretended to work on a 'alchemical concoction', after he told Chuckie he had found an ancient formula for a Courage Potion among his many books. In reality, he was just mixing some sauces and juice fruits, trying to come up with a liquid with a 'mysterious, magical look' without intoxicating the lion in the process.

That same day, a bit late at night, Jimmy and Cindy also finished with Jenny's heart. To Lila, it looked more like a very small engine, until the porcelain girl decided to paint it red and put it inside a heart-shaped little container, that wouldn't mess with its working and would also protect the 'heart' in case of Jenny's body suffering a serious damage. Otis and Jimmy finished installing it, and Otis made Jimmy to start it on.

"You did most of the work, Kid, so, go ahead." Otis grinned.

"On it." Jimmy grinned and activated the 'heart' inside Jenny before closing the metal girl's body. "And… how do you feel now, Jenny?"

"It feels… good…" Jenny then got a broad grin. "It feels good. I can feel… I can FEEL! AND… AND I LOVE THIS!"

The metal girl was so excited she immediately got all her friends in a very tight hug, stretching her arms to the max to get them all at once. She had to stop when Jimmy pointed out that he was the only one not feeling some pain from it.

"Heh… sorry… and… Uh… do I have a problem with my eyes? I'm losing fluids…" Jenny said when realizing some liquid was now coming out of her eyes and rolling down her cheeks.

"Those are 'tears', Jenny… oily ones, but tears, none the less." Cindy said while cleaning up Jenny's face. "This happens when you cry, and you cry when feeling an extremely strong emotion, either good or bad."

"She's right, Jenny… heh… right now I almost feel like crying too. I'm ever so happy for you!" Lila said while washing away a little tear of her own.

"Well, everybody stop crying and get ready to be amazed because we're gonna grant the third wish." Otis announced, getting everyone's attention.

"Y-you mean…" Chuckie got an excited and nervous look.

"Yes, the formula must be ready by now. I had to boil it for a while and it was very hot when I finished; it must be cold enough to drink now." Otis told the lion as he took everyone to a small secondary room, where the bull kept several liquids and substances he used to create some of his special effects and also assorted snacks to eat while working. He then presented them a large vial filled up with a green, bubbling liquid.

"Uh… is that thing… s-safe to drink?" Chuckie gulped a bit.

"I'm 100% sure." Otis grinned. "Well… more like, 50%... or 30%... Okay, either I made the formula right, and this makes you the most courageous cat alive, or I made a few mistakes and only came up with a laxative; either way, it's a win-win situation for you, getting either lots of bravery or a healthy colon."

Chuckie grabbed the vial and sniffed the liquid. His friends gave him encouraging looks but he still was a bit doubtful.

"So… this… is liquid courage…"

"It will be courage once you drink it; after all, courage's on the inside. Right now, it's just a very fancy cocktail." Otis shrugged. "Just drink it, and see if it works."

Chuckie got the vial closer to his mouth and stopped.

"Okay… I'm gonna drink it."

"Yes, go ahead." Jenny smiled at him.

Chuckie, again, made a drinking gesture but stopped, giving everyone a nervous grin.

"Heh… yes, I'm gonna drink it."

"We know. You already told us." Jimmy said.

Chuckie's lips almost touched the vial but stopped again.

"Yes, yes, I'm gonna drink it."

"You said it." Cindy gave him an unamused look. Everyone else was getting a similar expression.

Chuckie wide opened his mouth to drink… and stopped.

"I'm…"

"**JUST DRINK IT ALREADY!"**

The very loud general chorusing almost made Chuckie to drop the 'formula' but he managed to get a hold on it, and then, before getting doubtful again, he drank it all in a single gulp, to everyone's relief.

"And… how do you feel now?" Lila asked while approaching him.

"Well… my mouth tastes like lemon… and orange… This thing had cinnamon?" Chuckie asked Otis.

"It had many ingredients; I added some… flavorers, to cover up for the most awful tasting ones." The 'wizard' shrugged. "The important thing is, how do you feel now?"

"Not that different… except that I'm not afraid right now. Then again, I have nothing to fear in this place; unless I start looking around, of course." Chuckie admitted.

"Well, you'll see the difference when facing your fears. For example, you fear fire, right?" Otis said while grabbing a small torch from his many props, and setting it on fire. "Now, hold this, very carefully."

Chuckie hesitated a bit but he soon was holding the torch without much problem. Even if still having the reasonable precautions while holding a torch, it was just common sense now (mostly, keeping the fire away from Jimmy's highly flammable body), the lion no longer being afraid of the flames.

"I… I'm not afraid." Chuckie could hardly believe it himself. "I… I can't believe it… I'm holding a torch… without… shaking in fear.. or dropping it."

"Good thing you don't, because this place is filled up with burnable stuff." Otis grabbed the torch while Chuckie's friends congratulated him. "Now, remember, being courageous isn't the same as being reckless. Just because you are no longer afraid of your own shadow doesn't mean you're gonna throw yourself from a window because you no longer fear getting hurt."

"Got it; nothing wrong with being cautious yet no longer afraid of taking a risk if necessary. Thanks." Chuckie smiled at the bull before getting him in a very tight hug, almost as hard as Jenny's. Otis, despite the pain, hugged him back and traded a glance with Lila, who was also very happy about this trick working.

"Well… back to business.. right now I'm having my first 'mixed feelings' moment." Jenny said while touching her chest and looking at Lila. "I'm very happy Jimmy, Chuckie and myself got our wishes granted, but I also feel a bit sad since Lila has yet to get her own."

"Hey, three out of four isn't a bad score." Otis shrugged when Chuckie stopped hugging him. "Still, you're right. We must think about someway to get Lila and Spunky back to Hillwood."

"Now you mention it… well… while Jimmy and I were working on Jenny's heart, and you were working on Chuckie's potion…" Cindy talked now. "We discussed some possible ways to help Lila. And it seems there's only one solution."

"That's right. You see, Otis arrived here flying in a balloon, and Lila and Spunky did in a storehouse that got carried by a very powerful wind. Both incidents had two things in common; a powerful storm, and flying." Jimmy pointed out. "Now, I know we can't produce a storm, but we can make Lila fly if we make a balloon for her. And that might be enough, if the balloon can get past the desert that surrounds Nick and make it back to her country or at least to somewhere with people that can get her there."

"Yes… actually, now you mention it, I still have the balloon around here. Deflated, of course." Otis rubbed his chin in thought. "If we repair it, and make a good-sized basket… and use the equipment Jenny's mother invented to build a stove, a furnace or something like that to heat up the air… Yes, that can work."

"Hate to be the one coming with bad news, but… How is Lila gonna fly that thing without help?" Chuckie pointed out. "It's a very dangerous journey to do alone, and we already know most of us can't leave Nick. "

The group realized this was a valid point; even if Otis could teach Lila how to fly the balloon, she'd have a hard time flying it, and this was a very risky journey to do without assistance. Not to mention that anyone going with her, if still conserving humanlike mobility and thoughts (something Cindy and Jimmy would lose the moment they'd leave the lands of Nick) wasn't sure to return home him/herself.

"Mmm… well, I'm a technological being." Jenny pointed out. "I'm not magic-dependent, so I can go with Lila without getting affected."

"Yes, but you're a super advanced metal girl that's as alive as us, just with more gears and less body smell." Otis said. "And not everyone out there is as nice as Lila; I know from experience. If you get out of Nick, you can get sure many scientists will want to get their hands on you to check on your mechanisms, one piece at a time."

Before anyone else could come with some other idea, Otis cleared his throat and walked in front of the group.

"So, since Lila needs help to get back home, and I'm the one who knows how to fly a balloon, plus I'm the 'wizard' that promised to fulfill her wish, guess it's my duty to be the one going with her."

"But Otis, what if you can't return later?" Cindy said. The large bull sighed and rubbed the back of his neck.

"Actually, Cindy… I… think I won't return. This is a one-way trip."

Everyone stared at him in shock.

"I've loved being 'The Wizard'... and I don't wanna leave you, Cindy, I mean, you're the nicest porcelain dolly I've ever met. And I used to work at a china shop… didn't end well." Otis sighed. "But… I had been a prisoner of my own lie for several years now; and I have my own wish to fulfill… freedom. I want to move among people, have different jobs, use my talents to earn a living and have fun… and I doubt I can do that here; we all know it's not fair for the Emerald City's people to worship me as an almighty wizard when I'm far from it; and it's not safe for me if they get to know the truth, I mean, you guys wanted to beat me up after I tricked you once. Imagine how the people here would react if knowing I've tricked them countless times for several years."

"Yes… not nice at all." Cindy sighed. She knew she'd miss him a lot, but the porcelain girl also knew that Otis felt like a prisoner at times, and this was probably the best chance for him to get his freedom back while also helping Lila. "But… if you leave… who'd be in charge of the city? I mean, I do a lot of work around here, but I need your authority to back me up."

"I think I have a solution for that. Before leaving, I'll get sure the whole city knows I've made you my replacement as the city's ruler, and that you'll be assisted by someone with incredible smarts granted by my magic."

"Wait… you mean…" Jimmy, shocked, pointed at himself.

"Why not? You have the brains for the job, and Cindy has the experience. You both working together can rule this place without breaking a sweat, not that you two can sweat anyway; and I'd inherit you my workplace and library. All that plus your combined intelligence and hard working is more than enough to deal with whatever emergency you might face… heh, besides, the people need a ruler they can see at the face, not someone who hides behind a smokescreen."

Jimmy reasoned what Otis said, realizing he was right. Plus, Jimmy wanted to exercise his mind and use his brains for good; ruling over a city would provide lots of mental stimulation, and besides, he really enjoyed Cindy's company. The scarecrow's friends agreed with Otis as well, especially Jenny, who was already a ruler herself.

"Otis, you got yourself a co-ruler for your city." Jimmy, smiling, shook hands/hooves with the bull, and then shared a little grin with Cindy, the girl already liking the idea of co-ruling with him.

"It's decided then. Let's start working on this balloon. And once it's done, we're ready to leave this place, Lila. Next stop, Hillwood!" Otis said to the redhead, who hugged him in happiness, and a moment later, the whole group started working on the balloon, the journey's details, and, of course…

"If we make the balloon here, we need a way to get it outside…" Otis chuckled before grabbing a saw and a mallet. "Alright, who's helping me make a hole in the ceiling?"

**X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X**

(As many of you already noticed, this chapter has some references to the characters' original series, including, but not being limited to, Jimmy having a 'Brain Blast' when making a plan, Jenny getting human-like emotions and sensations, Chuckie trying to use hypnosis to overcome his fears, and Lila making a reference to Madame Blanche, from our series, 'Hey, Arnold!', a woman who makes apparently magical potions but work solely on self-suggestion. Also, Jimmy and Cindy's relationship is more than referred.)


	11. Getting Lila home

Chapter 11 -** Getting Lila Home**

The next days were extremely busy for everyone at the castle; even the staff's members that didn't know Otis secret were particularly busy since Cindy wasn't there to direct them as much as usual, the porcelain girl spending most time at the workstation. Still, the blonde still took time to tell them that the wizard was working on a very special project that required her cooperation, and that there would be some big changes in the near future, basically starting to prepare them and the rest of the citizens for Otis' departure.

Once the balloon was ready, including the furnace that would heat the air, Otis had another idea for the journey; calling the anti-fairies one last time and make them produce a very powerful wind to give the vehicle a good push. After all, besides 'flight', the other main factor present on every arrival to Nick was extreme weather conditions.

"So, once the balloon is in the air, the anti-fairies will produce the necessary wind from a certain distance, so the people think it's the 'Wizard' doing his last magical trick before leaving." Otis explained Lila as they continued working on the details and the bull selected the stuff he'd carry on the balloon. "We'll need to ask for this wish beforehand; not a minute before leaving, but at least a day before."

"Okay… I can get out of the city with someone..." Lila was interrupted by Chuckie.

"I can take you there; after all, I'm the closest we have to a horse." Chuckie chuckled a bit. "Besides, maybe I'm no longer claustrophobic, but I'm still a wild animal that likes open spaces... heh, good thing I never had that much agoraphobia. I'll be glad to carry you out of town."

"Thanks, Chuckie." Lila smiled at him before looking back at Otis. "Anyway, once I call the anti-fairies, I'll give them a basic explanation, and maybe I can get Anti-Cosmo, and just him, to come back with us so you can talk with him directly. After all, you're the expert in this."

"Mmm... yes, I see your point. Okay, once we finish loading the balloon's basket, you two will go call the anti-fairies. I'll use that time to disguise myself so Anti-Cosmo will see me as a powerful wizard; I don't trust the guy to keep the secret."

"Speaking about loading..." Jenny, carrying no less than twenty suitcases and a trunk, frowned at Otis. "Are you sure you're gonna need ALL THIS?"

"I assure you, I'm only taking the most essential items." Otis declared.

"Otis, you're taking everything but..."

Jimmy interrupted Jenny by taking a kitchen sink out of the balloon. Everyone gave a look at the shrugging Otis.

"What? It's gonna be a long journey; you don't expect us to eat in dirty dishes, right?"

"Heh, taking the dog for a walk... and the lion too, uh?" Sheen chuckled while he and Carl opened the door for Lila, Chuckie and Spunky.

"Actually, it's more like a horse ride without the hooves." Lila chuckled while climbing on Chuckie's back. The lion nodded at her and then he started running, with Spunky closely behind.

"Riding a lion... aw, and I can't even get a llama." Carl sighed.

"Ask for a pony; they're everywhere these days." Sheen shrugged as they closed the door.

The 'lion ride' lasted for about half an hour, Chuckie stopping at a small forest a few miles away from the city. Lila and Otis selected this place since the distance and the trees would provide some coverage for the anti-fairies' arrival and people would be unlikely to see them. After Lila gave Chuckie and Spunky some water and a snack from her magical basket (that, as usual, she brought with her whenever going to open field), the redhead called for the flying creatures.

"The third wish already? Kids these days; you want everything as fast as possible." Anti-Cosmo chuckled slightly.

"And who doesn't?" Anti-Wanda chuckled while appearing a sandwich with her magic… and holding it with her feet while eating.

"Anti-Cosmo, it's possible for me to ask for a wish for a later day?" Lila asked.

"Mmm… interesting proposal. Well, as long as it's not for a very later day..." Anti-Cosmo tapped his chin.

"It's for tomorrow. You see, we're gonna need an ever-so very powerful wind..."

"Oh, I can do that now." Anti-Wanda changed her sandwich for a can of beans with bacon.

"Not that kind of wind." Chuckie dead-panned.

"Maybe it would be better if the Wizard explains you; but he doesn't want the people at the city to get scared by you..." Lila explained.

"Scared by us? Oh, wonder why, I asked, with a little smirk." Anti-Cosmo smirked slightly while saying this, most of the anti-fairies chuckling in response.

"So... if it's possible, we'd like to get you, and only you, Anti-Cosmo, to Emerald City, so you can discuss the wish with the wizard." Lila continued.

"I can say this about your wishes, Lila; they're not conventional." Anti-Cosmo shrugged. "Okay, I'll travel inside your basket. Now, Anti-Fairies, while I'm attending this, Anti-Wanda will be in charge…"

Anti-Wanda then ate the can of beans and bacon... literally, metal and all.

"... of entertaining you. Now, stay here and don't get into troubles without me to start and enjoy them."

A while later, Lila, Chuckie and Spunky were at the Wizard's throne room. The redhead opened the basket and Anti-Cosmo flied out, eating a quesadilla.

"Mmm… It's a good travel food."

"Glad you enjoyed it." Otis, in classic magician outfit, that reminded Lila of Disney's version of Merlin, literally appeared in front of them, using some of the many stage magician tricks he knew to simulate his powers.

"Nice to finally see you face-to-face." Anti-Cosmo grinned. "Truth be said, I thought you'd be more impressive."

"I'm a shape-shifter. I chose this aspect for a classical magical meeting. My other idea was a bull." Otis, discretely, threw a smoke bomb to the floor, and once the smoke dissipated, he was in his basic, natural shape, standing on four.

"Hey, that's a good one." Anti-Cosmo pointed.

"You should see my iguana." Otis, again, used a smoke bomb to cover up his 'transformation' to magician outfit. "Okay, let's start with this. I'll need to leave Nick for some undetermined time."

"Oh. You want me to bake you a 'So Long' cake or what?" Anti-Cosmo smirked.

"Only if you do it literally; a sweet, long cake would be a nice dessert for the trip." Otis smirked back. "But, seriously, to leave this land, you need to combine two elements; flying capacities, and extremely powerful winds. I already used my incredibly powerful magical abilities..."

"Modest, aren't you?" Anti-Cosmo rolled his eyes.

"... to create a flying vehicle. And I'll use my magic to protect my travel companions and myself through the journey; but I need the wind to kick-start the whole thing." Otis continued.

"And that's where my anti-fairies and I get to work." The blue being grinned. "Well, since this is Lila's final wish, you can count on that wind. Just tell me when and where you want it."

"Tomorrow, around noon, you'll see my flying machine over the city. You and your anti-fairies will be a bit far away so none of the citizens can see you; and then, when you see the machine, you'll produce this wind, that has to be as strong as a hurricane's and last for a very long time, enough to take the machine to Nick's outer frontiers (I'll handle the trip from that point on)... but remember, don't make it a violent, dangerous wind. You see, I'm traveling with Lila, and she has a weak stomach, so..."

"Got it." Anti-Cosmo nodded before turning back at Lila. "Guess we have a deal. And remember, Lila, you can't call us again after this wish. It's the third and last one."

"I know, and I'm ever so grateful for you to help us with this." Lila, as usual, thanked him with a respectful bow. Anti-Cosmo nodded back, and, after waving bye to both Otis and Chuckie, used his magic to teleport out of the city and back with his anti-fairies.

"Hold on a minute... they can teleport?" Chuckie arched an eyebrow. "If the anti-fairies can do this, why they fly everywhere they go? In fact, why they carried us if they could have just done this trick?"

A note magically appeared from thin air. Lila grabbed and read it.

"One, flying is better for dramatic entrances. And two, you never asked. Signed, Anti-Cosmo. P.S. This message will self-destruct." Lila yelped and dropped the note at the last part… and nothing happened, except the message changing to '_Heh, got you_.''

"Well, we already made the final arrangements with our travel agent." Otis chuckled. "Let's finish loading the balloon's basket. I think I know how to bring the kitchen sink with us."

The next day, shortly before noon, Otis used some special megaphones that he and Cindy had installed at key stones around the tower to make the official announcement of his departure. The whole city heard the 'wizard' and his thunderous voice.

"**Citizens of Emerald City... I, the Great and Powerful Wizard of Nick, have a very special announcement for you all! This day, after ruling over you for so many years, I'll need to leave Nick for an undetermined time!"**

"WHAT?" Sheen exclaimed, along with many other citizens. He then turned at Carl. "Uh... what does 'undetermined time' mean?"

"That even he's not sure of when he'll return." Carl managed to say despite his own shock.

"Ah, thanks. Okay, back to topic… WHAT?"

"**I know this is shocking for you all. However, I can't stay here any longer, and, to be honest, my presence is no longer as necessary as before. As many of you already know, both Sartana, the Evil Undead Witch of the East, and Vicky, the Wicked Witch of the West, had been eliminated for good. In other words, they're no longer a threat for your lives, and therefore my presence is no longer needed to intimidate them."**

Most of the people voiced their agreement with these facts.

"**And, well, honestly, if you are only having the normal government and administration problems to deal with, you really don't need a super powerful wizard to protect you." **Otis paused to give the people a few seconds to ponder and agree with this too. **"So, I'm taking my talents to another place where they're in great need of a wizard of my level. But fear not; I won't leave you empty-handed."**

"Yes, he's giving us llamas!" Carl exclaimed.

"**And no, I'm not giving you llamas. Yes, Carl, Cindy told me about you."**

"Oh... Yes, the Wizard knows my name!" Carl beamed again.

"**What you'll receive is… a new ruler. An unique one. Along with Cindy, my most trusted and capable advisor, you'll also get what no other city has; a scarecrow leader. Someone with magical intelligence granted by yours truly. Now, Emerald City's people, ladies and germs, one big round of applause for your new co-ruler… dramatic pause... Jimmy, The Scarecrow!"**

As Otis was saying this, Jimmy, with Cindy closely behind, appeared at another of the palace's terraces, one that allowed most of the citizens to see him. Almost instantly, they started chorusing his name, and when he told Cindy to move aside him, the girl was equally praised by the citizens. Inside his tower, Otis heard this and smiled, happy for leaving the city in such good hands.

"Okay, guys, get the balloon ready. I'm making the final announcements." Otis said to Chuckie, Jenny and Lila, the trio obeying him, while he got back to talking at the megaphones. "**Obey and respect Jimmy and Cindy as if they were myself, just with less magic and more straw and porcelain. I know they'll do a wonderful job. And now, as my final magical act, you'll all see me ascending and going up, up and away from Nick. And, once again, thanks for your loyalty, love and some other good thing that starts with an 'L'. This is the Wizard of Nick saying 'So Long, Everybody'!"**

Otis chuckled and smiled when hearing the many citizens cheering for him. He'd definitely miss this part of the job. The bull sighed, put on the proper outfit (a pilot's disguise) and went to his tower's rooftop, where he activated a series of levers that opened it for the balloon.

The balloon started levitating out of the workstation, behind held in place by a series of ropes connected to a central polley, that would release them all with a single pull. Otis, being already at the rooftop, had no problems to get on board.

"Alright, guys, it's time. I already said goodbye to Jimmy and Cindy, so, once Lila gets in here, we'll be out of..." Otis paused when seeing only Jenny and Chuckie there. "And where's Lila?"

"She went to find Spunky. That dog disappeared almost one hour ago." Jenny said.

"Well, hope she finds him soon. It's almost time to go." Otis replied while giving the balloon a final check-up.

Lila, meanwhile, was calling Spunky's name while looking for him all over the palace. She had already checked out the kitchen and most rooms without success.

"Oh, Spunky, where are you?" Lila was now getting worried until she passed next to a closed door, hearing obvious doggy noise. She opened the door, realizing it was a closet room, and finally found Spunky… hugging and caressing a mope.

"Okay... I ever so wanna ignore what you were doing in here." Lila grabbed Spunky but the dog started whining at this. The redhead sighed and grabbed the mope so Spunky would stop complaining, and dashed back to the tower.

Meanwhile, Otis checked out his luggage one last time.

"Clothing trunk… equipment trunk… elephant trunk.." Otis held said trunk. "Heh, from the time I disguised myself as a circus elephant… I never ate so many peanuts in my life. Okay, I think I got everything… oh, right, the kitchen sink."

"Otis, don't tell us that you really are taking it with you." Chuckie rolled his eyes.

"Nah… you're right, I'm overdoing this. Better leave it here. Step aside." Otis grabbed the sink and threw it out of the basket… with enough bad luck to hit the polley. Almost instantly, all the ropes got released at once, and the balloon started elevating.

"Oh, no... Chuckie, Jenny, get the ropes!" Otis said in a hurry while trying to stop the balloon himself.

The metal girl and the lion hurried to grab the ropes, but, unfortunately, Lila and Spunky arrived at that very same moment, and, when seeing what was happening, the redhead also dashed to grab the ropes, dropping the mope in the process. The result was that Chuckie had to jump aside to avoid colliding with Lila, since he was already moving too fast to stop, and hit some of the workstation props, and Jenny, distracted by this, tripped over with the mope, falling to the floor. Lila also failed to grab the ropes since her first instinct was to see if her friends were okay, and by the time they moved again, the balloon was already out and over the tower.

"Don't worry, I'll descend a bit so you can get on board..." Otis yelled at Lila but stopped when seeing a very familiar black swarm at a distance. "No... not now! Just a few more minutes!"

The Emerald City's people, all of them looking up at the balloon, didn't notice what Otis could easily see from his aerial point of view. The anti-fairies had already seen the balloon, and, as Lila and Otis told Anti-Cosmo, they had started to combine their magical power with their supernatural flight speed, moving in circles to create a tornado-like wind while using the magic to ensure it wouldn't damage any structure or the balloon. The citizens cheered as the wind started moving the balloon at impossible speeds, taking it up and away, and their loud cheering made it quite hard for Lila and her friends to hear Otis' voice, even if they were all yelling now.

"**No, Otis, please, wait, don't leave!"** Lila yelled as loud as she could.

"**Throw us a rope! We'll pull the balloon back here!" **Jenny said while she and Chuckie also tried to get a hold on Lila, Spunky as themselves, due to the wind being so strong they almost fell to the floor plus they also had to take cover from all the stuff in the workstation that was now flying around them.

"**I can't get back! And the wind won't let me throw a rope! I'm sorry, Lila! Really, I'm sorryyyyyy..!"**

Otis' last yells were very hard to hear; in less than a minute, he was just too far for that, and after a few more seconds, the balloon was just a barely visible spot in the sky; and then, not even that.

The wind stopped blowing when the balloon was out of sight. Cindy and Jimmy entered the room a few moments later, and got shocked expressions when noticing Lila and Spunky hadn't left with Otis.

"W-what happened?" Cindy asked.

"We'll tell you later." Jenny sighed sadly. "Right now... I feel Lila needs some time to recover."

As Jenny said, Lila was now sobbing, with Chuckie offering his shoulder to the girl and trying to comfort her while Spunky gave her a sad look and flattened his ears, whining at the scene. Jenny, Cindy and Jimmy soon joined Chuckie at comforting their friend.

Later, at the throne room, Lila and her friends sat around said throne except for Jimmy, who was sitting on it, and Cindy, sitting on one of the seat's armrests. The redhead was petting Spunky, who, somehow, seemed to understand he was partially guilty of the balloon's fiasco, and didn't look as absent-minded or cheerful as usual.

"And, to end with this uncomfortable silence… what now?" Chuckie asked.

"I don't know. The balloon was our best idea to send Lila home." Jimmy sighed. "Even if we make a new one, Otis was the only one with the experience and technical knowledge to navigate it."

"And even with his knowledge, we have no way to know if he made it." Cindy sighed now, everyone taking a moment to ponder about this and worry a bit about the bovine 'wizard', hoping he'd make it to a civilized place.

"Plus, I no longer can call Anti-Cosmo and his friends, so we wouldn't have the magical wind to impulse the balloon." Lila looked down.

"Then, we're out of ideas." Jenny rubbed the back of her head. "Maybe we can come up with something else, but… that will take time."

Lila had to make an effort to not break in tears again. She couldn't help but worry about what her father and friends in Hillwood would be thinking right now; it had been several weeks now since she disappeared. Sure, she was in a good place, and her friends would comfort her, but, without Otis around, her hopes to return home were now almost gone for good.

"Well… you can always go for the third option." Cindy thought out loud, getting everyone's attention. "Remember, Nick has two good witches and used to have a 'wizard'. The first witch couldn't help sending Lila home, and Otis is gone, so that leaves us with..."

"The other good witch; the South one!" Jimmy exclaimed. "You think she can do it?"

"Yes, I mean, Mrs Maria is a good witch too, and she couldn't send me home." Lila reminded Cindy.

"Yes, but remember that each witch has different powers and abilities; Sartana had her magical guitar and could summon undead skeletons: Vicky had control of wild animals and fire powers aside from some other spells; and Mrs Maria has her Plata Peligrosa's glove and the ability to summon/create magical items, like your basket. It's possible that the South Witch has the right powers or knowledge to send you home." Cindy commented.

"It's our best idea right now." Jenny said at a nodding Cindy. "I can go with you; besides, I already have to leave the city and return to the West to start with my ruling duties."

"And I'm going too. Besides, from what I've heard, it's not easy to get to the South Witch's lands, so Jenny and I can protect you." Chuckie smiled at the redhead.

"Good thinking. Big surprise here, there are no roads to the South Lands, and, as usual, the reason is the journey's dangers. From what I've heard, you have to get past a very dense forest, populated with wild beasts, and then, right before getting to the witch's domains, there's a territory of very hostile people that doesn't like trespassers." Cindy informed them.

"Well, I'm going too." Jimmy said, raising a hand to stop Cindy. "And yes, I know, I'm Emerald City's co-ruler now, and I shouldn't leave immediately after I got the job, but I made the promise to help Lila return home practically since day one, and I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for her."

"Thanks, Jimmy. Thank you all." Lila, now with happy tears, hugging her travel companions while Cindy smiled at the scene.

"Alright then. Guess I can handle the city's governing for a few days until you return. You people or whatever rest today, and tomorrow morning, you'll leave to see The South's Good Witch; Susie, from the Carmichael House."

**X-X-X-X-X-X-X**

(And that's the end of this chapter. We added a few details here since, in the original story, the Winged Monkeys, played here by the Anti-Fairies, had no role on The Wizard leaving Oz without Dorothy, plus Toto made her miss the balloon because of him chasing after a cat, unlike Spunky here, as we made a reference to one episode of 'Rocko's Modern Life' where he gets some... unhealthy affection for a mope.)

(And, of course, Susie Carmichael, who'll play the role of Glinda, The Good Witch of The South, is from the 'Rugrats/ All Grown Up' series.)


	12. Visiting Susie

Chapter 12 - **Visiting Susie**

"Hey, new shoes? Nice." Jenny said to Jimmy when she and the others saw him the next morning. As she commented, the scarecrow was now wearing light metal shoes.

"Thanks. It took me all night, but, then again, I don't sleep. And I wanted to correct my main issue when walking long distances; my straw legs and feet giving me very little support." Jimmy pointed out. "These special shoes will let me walk a the same pace of a normal human, so I won't be delaying you during the journey."

"Guess our new 'Wizard' will be a techno-one." Cindy half-joked while walking the group out of the palace. "Okay, I want you guys to have this. It's a map to the Southern Lands... unfortunately, it's done mostly from rumors and long-distance observation."

"It's okay, Cindy. Thank you ever so much." Lila smiled while getting the map and placing it inside her magical basket. "At least we'll have an idea about where we're going."

"And, just in case, I brought this." Jimmy handled Lila the magical cap for her to place it inside the basket too. "Even if you already used the three wishes, none of us has used the cap yet."

"Hey, good idea. Then, we're telling the anti-fairies to take us there?" Jenny asked.

"No, remember that both Lila (thanks to Mrs Maria's blessing) and Vicky, the ones that, we know, have used the cap, have, or had, magical abilities. Even if this cap is supposed to work with anyone wearing it and saying the spell, we don't know if it will work with a non-magical being." Jimmy reminded everyone.

"Mmm… well, you're surely animated by magic… but Jenny is a technological being, and Chuckie, well, we don't know for sure if the semi-human animals in this land get their abilities from magic or from some very weird natural stuff." Cindy pondered. "So, it seems that the ones with more chances of using the cap, Jimmy, are you and probably myself."

"Meaning our number of wishes is a bit more limited than we thought." Chuckie deduced.

"Exactly. Let's do the journey our usual way, by walking, and reserve the cap for emergencies. Besides, we all want to make new roads here in Nick, and that would require close, by foot, examination and exploring." Jimmy concluded.

As they walked out of the city, lots of people surrounded them, both to get to know the new co-ruler, and to get to know Jenny, who, by now, had made public her state as new ruler of the Western Lands. Jimmy also brought some credentials and badges that made his and Jenny's statuses an official thing, so they could introduce themselves as diplomats-rulers of their own lands in case it was necessary. After a while, the group was finally out of the city and heading south.

"And this Susie Witch, is she a nice, good person? I know she's supposed to be a good witch, but, well, to be 'good' doesn't necessarily means you're 'nice'." Again, Lila couldn't help to think about Helga.

"Well, I only know what I've heard from other animals; mostly birds that return home after spending winter in Susie's lands." Chuckie told the group. "And it seems she's a quite nice, gentle person, and, apparently, also a very powerful witch, so much, that neither Sartana nor Vicky ever tried to conquer her lands… then again, Sartana had to deal with Mrs Maria, and Vicky liked dry weather, so…"

"We'll need to trust those birds then." Jenny shrugged as they continued walking, entering a very dense forest area now. After a while, the ground started getting pretty muddy, and the forest looked more and more like a swamp area.

"Mmm… now I'm glad I made myself these shoes. Without them, my straw feet would absorb too much humidity and I'd be unable to walk properly after a while." Jimmy observed.

"Well, I hope your shoes don't get rusty. I'll need some extra oil after this." Jenny commented while changing her hands into axes, as she noticed the vegetation was becoming too dense by now and it would be impossible for them to pass if she didn't make a little 'road' herself. The metal girl started chopping the branches and vines blocking their path while Chuckie grabbed and removed the chopped plants from the way.

"No wonder nobody visits the Southern Lands." Lila commented. "This swamp is ever so hard to get past by..."

Lila stopped talking when a large branch fell out of nowhere, almost hitting her. The redhead moved aside to avoid it, but then the branch moved by itself and made an evident effort to grab the girl. Spunky barked at the branch and then yipped when a vine tried to catch him.

"The plants are alive!" Chuckie yelped, now avoiding a vine himself.

"Well, yes, they're living beings, and..." Jimmy yelped when a branch grabbed him from behind. "OKAY, OKAY, I GET YOUR POINT!"

"And these plants are getting mine!" Jenny charged at this branch and cut it in half, saving the scarecrow, while Chuckie protected Lila and Spunky, biting and breaking apart the plants as well, but even the lion and metal girl started getting overwhelmed after several minutes of battling.

Lila moved aside from the fight to look for the magic cap inside the basket, and hoping Jimmy could summon the anti-fairies, when a huge mass of vegetable matter, with humanoid shape, charged at her from behind, grabbing the girl between its 'hands'. However, before her friends could help her, Lila's forehead started glowing, and the 'swamp monster' moved Lila's body to see her face-to-face, so to speak.

"**You are blessed..."**

The plants stopped moving immediately, and the 'monster`gently placed Lila back on the ground. Then, all the vegetation forming its body moved away and returned with the rest of the plants, revealing a dark tanned, messy haired middle-aged man, with a little mustache and a thick, moderately sized beard, and dressed with what seemed to be a loincloth made of vegetation.

"Hey, sorry I attacked you. I only wanted to scare you away." The man apologized profusely.

"Want to form a club?" Chuckie rolled his eyes.

"But why did you attack us? And how you did the plants' thing?" Lila asked, already recovering from the surprise.

"Well, first, let me introduce myself. I'm Huu."

"Who?" Chuckie asked.

"No, I'm Huu."

"Who what?"

"No, just Huu."

"That's what we want to know. Who are you?"

"Exactly."

"Uh?"

"Not 'uh', Huu."

"That's what we want to know..." Chuckie stopped talking due to a metal hand covering his mouth.

"Let me guess. Your name is 'Who'?" Jenny deadpanned.

"Mmm.. almost. My name is 'HUU'. And to answer your other questions, I have the power to move the plants by manipulating the water inside them; as for why I was attacking you, well, I protect the swamp, and you were destroying it." Huu frowned at a sheepish Jenny.

"We're sorry, Sir. We didn't mean to offend you." Jimmy said while taking out his and Jenny's credentials. "As you can see, Lila, our redhead friend, got blessed by Mrs Maria's power, and Jenny (the metal girl) and I are the new rulers of both the Western Lands and Emerald City, respectively."

"Mmm..." Huu grabbed the credentials. "Bad. This is bad."

"Bad? Why?" Chuckie asked.

"Because I never learned to read." Huu shrugged. "Still, I recognize the official papers' logo… heh, I'm not as ignorant as you think." Huu chuckled before giving the credentials back. "Okay, I see now that you're in some sort of official mission."

"Exactly. And about your plants, well... we'll be glad to stop hurting them if you move them a bit to create a freeway of sorts for us to get through the swamp." Jimmy told him. "In fact, using my new status, I can turn this swamp into a 'protected area', so it will be illegal to destroy or damage it."

"Hey, I like that idea. So, you only want to get past the swamp? Nothing else?" Huu asked while the group nodded. "If that's the case, I'll be glad to help you all."

Huu moved in front of the group and started clearing the way while moving through the swamp, plus using his power over water to dry the ground a bit, so the 'road' was more comfortable to walk in. After a couple of hours, the group was out of the swamp, with only normal, not-so-dense forest for many miles ahead.

"This is the most I can advance. This part of the forest only has a normal humidity level so my power over plants is much weaker."

"Thanks ever so much for guiding us, Mister Huu." Lila smiled kindly while the others thanked him as well, and Jimmy took out an officially sealed blank document and a pencil he brought along with the credentials. The scarecrow wrote something, then asked Jenny to write on it as well, and finally handled the paper to Huu.

"There. I know you can't read, but this document makes you the swamp's official protector. This means your authority over these lands is no longer self-appointed but recognized by Emerald City's government, with the Western Lands' ruler as a witness." Jimmy said. "This means you have full authority to forbid people from damaging the swamp, and if you need help, you can use this to get past the guards at Emerald City to see me and my co-ruler so we can provide you with assistance. The only thing you have to do in return is help us if we ever need your help, and, of course, to keep this 'road' open."

"Hey, thanks. Protecting the whole swamp can be a burden when you do it alone." Huu grabbed the paper and then, smiling, waved bye at the group and returned to his swamp, as they also continued with their journey.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-

The group continued walking for a few more hours until they found a place to spend the night. As Jenny and Lila started setting up the campfire, and Jimmy gave a look to Cindy's map (plus writing a few side notes on it, detailing the new road through the swamp lands), Chuckie and Spunky moved aside the group, both the lion and dog having a weird instinctive feeling that made them get extremely alert.

"You feel it too, uh, Spunky?" Chuckie said to the dog, who yapped in reply. "Yeah... if I were a spider, I'd say my sense is tingling."

"What's going on?" Jimmy asked the lion, the scarecrow noticing his and Spunky's mood, and getting the females' attention.

"I'm not sure… it's an… animal thing..." Chuckie looked up at the treetops, and then he and his friends saw several squirrels dashing through the foliage.

"Where are those squirrels going?" Lila asked, puzzled.

"Let me ask them." Chuckie looked up at a close branch, and stopped a squirrel that had just landed on it. "Hey, Buddy, wait!"

The squirrel, whose buck teeth were bigger than normal, and had a very dumb expression, stopped immediately.

"Uh, I'm no 'buddy'... well, I'm not a 'nobody' because I'm somebody, and yes, my body has a name..."

"Great, out of all the squirrels, he got the one who needs a brain even more than you did." Jenny whispered at Jimmy, the metal girl not wanting to offend the squirrel but couldn't stop from commenting the obvious.

"Yes, yes, I got it; uh… and your name is…" Chuckie continued talking with the squirrel.

"Fred. Glad to meet you."

"Oh, good; nice to meet you too, Fred. I'm Chuckie. Look, my friends and I are curious..."

"Oh, I'm curious too. I once saw a cloud for hours because I thought it looked like my granny's face... then I realized it was just my granny taking a nap on a tall branch."

"Riiiiight... anyway, can you tell us where are you and all the other squirrels going, please?"

"We're going to the same place all the other animals are going. I'm surprised you aren't there yet." Fred replied. "Are you new around here or something?"

"Yes… and, again, I'll be very thankful if you tell us why all the animals are going to the same place."

"Ah, because…" Fred stopped himself. "Uh… I forgot… One moment; hey, wait!" Fred stopped another squirrel who was passing by. "Where are we going again?"

"To the meeting to discuss ways to handle the monster, remember? Seriously, Fred, pay more attention." The other squirrel left in a hurry.

"Ah, yeah, what he said." Fred talked back to Chuckie and company.

"Monster?" Lila gulped a bit.

"There's a monster in this forest?" Jenny now joined Chuckie at questioning Fred.

"Oh, yes. A very big one. He eats almost any animal he can catch. And he catches all kind of animals. He eats tigers, lions, elephants, buffaloes, donkeys, hippopotamuses, rhinoceroses, giraffes, octopuses, moose, ducks, rabbits..."

"Whoa... it's a monster or a Tasmanian Devil?" Lila gasped.

"I don't know. I stopped hearing when he said 'lions'." Chuckie groaned before looking back at Fred, who was still listing whatever animal he could think. "Thanks, Fred. Uh, you think we can go to this meeting?"

"Well, you're an animal, and the dog too, so you can go, sure." Fred stopped his rant and then looked at the rest of the group. "Don't know about you guys."

"I`m a human, so... I'm an evolved primate. That makes me an animal too, more or less." Lila pointed at herself. "And Jimmy and Jenny come with us."

"Oh, well. Then just follow me. And if you can't follow me, just follow your noses... or better, hold your noses so they don't run away, and just follow the scent. All those animals in the same place, well, even I know it's not gonna smell like roses." Fred shrugged before getting back to running through the foliage.

This time, Chuckie and Spunky were the ones leading the group, with Jenny carrying both Jimmy and Lila on her back to keep up with the lion and dog's pace. After a while of following the running squirrels, the group saw many other animals going on the same direction, mostly normal forest animals like rabbits and deer, but also a few less common ones like monkeys and parrots. The group also realized this part of the forest had more varied vegetation and started resembling a rainforest; Lila correctly guessed that Nick's south lands were probably the warmest and most humid ones.

After a while, the group arrived at a huge cavern where hundreds, if not thousands of animals, were gathering all together. Also, in front of the whole group, there was a large rock that served as a public stand of sorts. The group found a good place to sit and pay attention to this meeting that was now about to start, as they deduced from the creature getting to the stand now. Lila recognized it as a lemur species, an aye-aye; the redhead was, again, having thoughts about Hillwood, this time about the field trips to the zoo.

"Everybody, silence, please. Thank you." The lemur talked in a very dignified, diplomatic way. "And now, to start our emergency meeting, let's hear it for the King of Lemurs... King Julien!"

The group was mildly surprised that the other animals didn't receive this announcement with much respect or excitement. In fact, many animals groaned in exasperation when the thin, ring-tailed lemur with a plants-made crown walked aside the other.

"Thanks, Maurice. And now, my loyal followers, peasants and overall animals that admire and reverence me..."

"Ugh, why we always have to hear this moron?" A red-nosed beaver groaned.

"Beats me, Daggerino. If this guy's our main authority figure, we're as good as extinct." A beaver with a big hairdo joined the complaining as Julien continued talking.

"... we are all here today to praise me..." Julien got interrupted by Maurice's soft coughing. "Oh, yes, and to discuss ways to stop that monster that continues eating us as if we were midnight snacks. My first suggestion, of course…"

"Oh, come on, not the 'Please the monster with a sacrifice' again." A chimpanzee with a thick British accent complained out loud. Another chimp did some signal language that the first one translated. "And Phil wants to add that your usual 'sacrifice' is still too small to satisfy the monster's appetite anyway."

"Oh, fine." Julien looked down at a small brown lemur with big orange eyes. "Okay, we're not needing you now, Mort. But stay around if we need a Plan B."

"Yay! I'm expendable!"

"_And I thought Eugene was too cheerful for his own good." _Lila thought while the little lemur beamed at the large one. At that moment, a blonde tigress moved Julien aside, getting his place on the stand.

"Julien, cut that. Really, you're hopeless." The tigress groaned.

"Hey, respect the crown!" Julien frowned.

"I respect the crown. My issues are with you." The tigress smirked at him before looking back at the crowd. "Okay, guys, gals, and whatever is in here, we're wasting our time here. We all know the kind of monster we're dealing with, and so far nobody had given a good solution."

The red-nosed beaver raised his hand/paw.

"And no, Dagget, your solutions don't work either. Nobody here has a time machine, mind control powers, or fairy dust."

"Hey, I'm just offering the ideas. How to do them, that's up to you. And your plans hadn't worked either, Angelica!"

"Because my plans only work if we get someone with enough courage and skill to do them. And let's face it, guys, even my best plans are useless unless someone here stops being a chicken… no offense to the chickens... while having enough physical skill to perform them."

"Uh, excuse me…" Chuckie raised his paw/hand. "If you can excuse my ignorance..."

"Dagget's excuse is being a moron by birth." Norbert, the big haired beaver, grinned while pointing at his brother, who frowned at this.

"Right... anyway, I'm new around here, and I'd like to ask, who's this monster everyone is talking about?" Chuckie asked; when noticing most animals were paying more attention to his friends than to him, he cleared it. "It's okay, they come with me."

"Oh, well, guess you should hear about this. After all, this monster seems to have a thing for large cats." Angelica groaned. "You and I must be only ones left in this place after the monster made a sandwich with that leopard… I know he was a bully, but still…"

"Yeah, and using two rhinos as bread loaves… " Maurice cringed.

"Well, it must be hard for the monster to find bread his size." Julien shrugged, getting some glares from the other animals.

"Anyway, this monster is called El Mal Verde. He's huge, I mean, really huge; as you can guess since he eats rhinos and other large animals as if they were a light snack. He has a huge, thick brown mustache, green skin, bullet a black sombrero, a skull themed belt, and a massive metal club for an arm… don't ask me where he got that arm, I just know he uses it to pummel elephants as if they were ants."

An elephant fainted... and fell over Dagget, Norbert barely avoiding this and most animals cringing at the scene.

"Nnnnnngh… still better than… sitting next to the skunks..."

"Sorry, Dagget! And somebody, please, wake up Burt. That elephant needs therapy." Angelica rolled her eyes before talking back at Chuckie. "Anyway, this meeting is to decide on ways to handle this monster once and for all."

"Maybe we can call the anti-fairies on him." Jimmy whispered at Chuckie. The lion pondered about this for a moment before whispering back.

"Maybe, but let me try this my way. It's time for me to prove my new bravery in a real situation." Chuckie then turned back at Angelica. "And those plans of yours that are too dangerous… they'd REALLY work? If you had someone willing to risk his life to make them possible, would you do it?"

"Well… yes, of course, I mean, this monster is a real threat to everyone here… But, are you actually volunteering? I already told you, this guy already ate all the other lions." Angelica was now more than a bit impressed by the lion's bravery, but she also was aware of the plan's risks and wasn't willing to risk anyone to put it to practice unless he/she really had chances of success… even if she had been tempted to use Julien.

"I am ready and willing. Just tell me what I need to do, and I'm on it." Chuckie stepped ahead, all the other animals looking at him in wonder, admiration, and, of course, many also thought he was insane.

"I don't think he knows what he's getting into." Maurice whispered at Julien.

"Ah, who cares?" Julien shrugged. "Okay, Angelica, tell him your plan, then and do it, before this lion listens to reason!"

Angelica rolled her eyes but got back to business and exposed her plan to all the animals; many of them already had a general idea about it, but they had to work on the details, and, of course, Chuckie had to participate actively in the planning stage (he actually asked Jimmy to help on this too), as he would do the most dangerous part.

Basically, Chuckie would be live bait.

The next day, Chuckie and Angelica went to El Mal Verde's home, at a mountain cave. To relieve some tension, they chatted a bit on their way there, Chuckie enjoying to tell how he had met his friends, their previous adventures, and how he got his 'magical courage'.

"So, you got your courage from The Wizard himself? No wonder you're being this brave." Angelica commented, now even more impressed. "So, does this means you fear nothing?"

"Not really. Actually, I'm more than a bit afraid right now." Chuckie chuckled. "But the thing is... I'm not longer scared of being afraid; as weird as it sounds, it helps me a lot, because now I know I can face my fears and win. Besides, it's better to still feel some fear so I'll be cautious enough for the plan to work even if I'm also being reckless enough to expose my mane on first place. Plus, I'm not risking myself just to prove something, but to help you all; this guy is terrifying every animal in this forest, and nobody knows better than me what it feels to live in constant fear."

"Remind me to get us to know each other much better if you survive this." Angelica grinned at the lion, who blushed slightly but got serious again when Angelica stopped walking. "Okay… here it is."

Chuckie looked ahead at the extremely large cave in front of them. Judging by the cave's size, and the many animal bones around it, some being from quite large species like hippos and elephants, the lion realized the animals weren't exaggerating El Mal Verde's description.

"Okay... you go tell the other animals and my friends to get ready. I'm going in." Chuckie took a deep breath. Even if he had insisted on his friends letting him and the other animals to handle this, the lion was still cautious enough to let them help with the plan and also have the magical cap ready in case everything went wrong and they really needed the anti-fairies' assistance.

Angelica nodded and, before leaving, gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. Chuckie blushed deeply at this.

"You tell anyone I did that, and El Mal Verde will be the least concern of yours." Angelica smirked at him, showing this threat was (mostly) a joke, and left in a hurry. Chuckie smiled at her and then entered the cave, feeling a bit more confident now.

"**MAL VERDE!"** Chuckie roared after walking a few steps inside the cave. "Hey, great echo. Ehem... **MAL VERDE, I CAME HERE FOR YOU!"**

A few moments later, the ground started trembling, and Chuckie looked up at the gigantic creature approaching him; he was right like the other animals described him, including the very threatening metal arm. Chuckie could feel his old scaredy cat's instincts kicking in, but kept his cool and stayed on the spot, looking up at the monster's face without flinching.

"Heh… I didn't remember ordering any food... but I like what I see." El Mal Verde grinned evilly at Chuckie, some saliva dripping out of his mouth.

"Well, sorry, but your lion's pizza got cancelled. Now, listen up, you Big, Bad, Breath-like-a-sewer Bully…" Chuckie paused. "Yeah, I know, I went too far with the alliteration… Anyway, my point is, I came here representing all the animals, to tell you we're no longer letting you live in this forest. I understand a guy your size needs lots of food, but you go too far! Have you considered, gee, I don't know, starting your own farm? Growing and breeding your own food? It would be much better for everyone's involved!"

El Mal Verde laughed loudly at this.

"Heh, you're suggesting me, the most powerful creature on Nick..."

"_Modest, isn't he?"_ Chuckie rolled his eyes.

"... to just… WORK... like any lesser being?"

"Hey, there's nothing wrong with working. In fact, it's healthy."

"Then, let the sick ones work." El Mal Verde smirked while smirking at the feline. "Heh, dinner and a show. Not bad. But it's time to stop chatting, and start eating."

"Okay... before you do that, may I tell you three things?" Chuckie moved a step back. "One, this is your last warning; if you don't listen to reason, things will get very ugly here."

El Mal Verde chuckled a bit at this 'empty threat', and started moving his hand towards Chuckie.

"Two... I know you're a monster, but seriously, can you wash your mouth once in a while? If you don't kill me, your breath will do it." Chuckie waved a hand/paw in front of himself.

El Mal Verde actually stopped his advance and moved his hand in front of his mouth, breathing on it, and then smelling the hand; the monster cringed in disgust for a moment, but then shrugged and got back to advancing at the lion.

"And three… **You have a spider on your face!**"

El Mal Verde, surprised at this sudden yell, tried to kill this spider… that wasn't real, obviously… with a hard slap to his own face.

**CLANG!**

"OW!"

Unfortunately for him, he slapped with the wrong hand. The impact was so hard that he lost a tooth, as big as the lion's body; Chuckie caught it on mid air and then, before the monster could react, stabbed El Mal Verde's foot with his own tooth, making the monster to roar in anger and pain.

"And now, one speciality of mine... Exit, Stage Right!" Chuckie dashed out of the cave, and, almost immediately, El Mal Verde started chasing after him.

"Okay… Step One, completed; he's chasing me…" Chuckie thought out loud before giving a quick look behind him and seeing the gigantic monster swinging his mace at him. "Yay for me… **YIPES!**"

Angelica, already at the forest, saw El Mal Verde chasing after Chuckie, the lion going in the direction the tigress had already shown him. Once she realized Chuckie was still a few steps ahead of the monster, and that he apparently was still running fast enough to avoid capture, at least, for now, Angelica roared loudly, signaling the other animals to get Step Two into motion.

"You think this will work?" Lila, who was with Jimmy, Jenny and Spunky, all of them watching from a small hill at a certain distance, was now paling a bit at the sight of the enormous villain.

"This plan is risky, but, considering how powerful El Mal Verde is, there are few options to defeat him." Jimmy told her, even if he was as visibly concerned as Lila. "And the other animals are right; Chuckie is among the very few ones with the physical abilities to be live bait for this plan to work; big enough for El Mal Verde to consider him a good meal, worthy of chasing him for a long distance, while still quick and agile enough to run ahead of someone who can advance dozens of feet with each step."

Chuckie was now running through the forest, the trees giving him enough coverage to delay El Mal Verde so the lion could put a bit more distance between himself and his pursuer. Still, it wasn't that much of an advantage since El Mal Verde was crushing/smashing every single tree without any effort, and the delay came mostly from him taking a few seconds every few steps to locate Chuckie again after destroying the obstacles. The monster didn't realize he was now being followed by hundreds of birds, all of them flying above him, and by Angelica and several primates, including a pair of gorillas.

"That guy is almost here!" Dagget, waiting the other side of the forest along with his brother, could hear El Mal Verde's approaching rampage. The two beavers were a few feet away from the end of the forest, and about a hundred feet away from a cliff.

"I hear him too, Daggeroni. Let's tell the others." Norbert said to a nodding Dagget, and then both beavers started thumping the ground with their tails. A moment later, two female reddish-brown furred badgers literally popped out of the ground; the badgers shook their bodies a bit to get rid of some water in their furs.

"Becky, Stacy, report." Norbert got a military tone.

"The tunnels are ready."Stacy, whose fur was a bit redder than her friend, saluted Norb.

"Yes; all the moles, groundhogs and the other badgers are already leaving." Becky said as she and Stacy wide opened their eyes when hearing El Mal Verde's furious roaring.

"Argh, he's here!" Dagget gasped.

"Everybody run; Step Two completed!" Norbert lost his cool and dashed away, followed by the badgers and Dagget, moments before Chuckie emerged from the forest, El Mal Verde almost hitting him with the mace when he stepped out a few seconds later.

Chuckie dashed to the cliff, with El Mal Verde now almost catching him, when the huge monster's foot fell on a large hole that had been hidden under thick branches covered with dirt and dry leaves. El Mal Verde growled and started hitting the ground around the hole until cracking it enough for him to walk out of the hole; even if this hole was deep and big enough to catch a couple of hippos, it was barely enough to catch his feet, even if still making it difficult for him to step out without breaking the ground. El Mal Verde then looked ahead at Chuckie, who was now at the cliff's edge, and grinned.

"Heh, you think I don't see what you're planning me to do? You and some other fools made several hole traps for me, so I'd trip and fall down when stepping on them." El Mal Verde smirked. "And then, when getting close enough to the cliff, I'd trip again and fall several hundred feet down. Seriously, how dumb you think I am?"

"Uh... do I have three free guesses?" Chuckie grinned sheepishly as El Mal Verde approached him. The large monster then started hitting the ground with his mace arm, making the whole cliff to tremble and revealing a couple more hole traps. El Mal Verde then walked towards Chuckie, a murderous smirk on his face.

"Now, it's your choice; you jump down the cliff, or let me eat you in peace, or try escaping so I can crush you with my mace. No matter what, you're done."

Chuckie growled at the huge monster and got a defensive stance.

"Try your worst."

El Mal Verde started throwing mace hits at the lion, who barely avoided them as his enemy continued impacting the ground. When El Mal Verde was ready to throw his final strike, the whole cliff started trembling, and the ground under El Mal Verde cracked loudly.

"W-what..." The monster gulped while Chuckie grinned.

The trap holes were only a trick to make El Mal Verde to hit the cliff, that was already very weakened by the digger animals' tunneling; to soften the ground and rocks even more, Jimmy had suggested them to make an extra tunnel coming from the closest water source (in this case, a lake) so the water would fill the tunnels to weaken the ground much faster before getting El Mal Verde's hits, so now he didn't need to get close to the cliff's edge to fall, as the whole cliff was now about to crumble down.

"Step Three." Chuckie grinned and roared loudly, signaling the birds to attack El Mal Verde as a huge flock, many of them carrying rocks and dirt they dropped on top of the monster. The villain covered up with his normal arm while swinging at the birds with the mace one, the distraction working so he couldn't step back on time when the cliff really broke apart, and he and Chuckie started falling.

The lion, at the very last moment, dashed away from the cliff's edge, running between El Mal Verde's legs, and then jumping to safety; in this case, Angelica's paws. The tigress and the primates had emerged from the forest when the birds started their attack, and she jumped to catch Chuckie in mid-air, while the monkeys grabbed her by the tail and formed a chain that finished with the gorillas, the ones who supported everyone's weight and pulled them away from the cliff as El Mal Verde fell down along with several tons of solid rock.

"Whoa… that was… intense..." Angelica panted a bit.

"Yes... a lot…" Chuckie paused. "Hope it worked because I'm not doing this again."

"Moment, Pal." Bada, one of the gorillas, looked up. "Hey, birds, can any of you go check out?"

"On it." Kitka, a peregrine falcon, dove down and went to see the plan's final results. The falcon returned a few moments later, landing next to Angelica and Chuckie.

"He's alive, but in VERY bad conditions. And there's no way to get out of that valley, specially with those injuries." Kitka informed.

"Mmm... so, basically, he's imprisoned for life. Yes, we can live with that." Angelica grinned before smiling back at Chuckie and fist/paw bumping with him.

"_I like to move it, move it… I like to move it, move it… I like to..."_

"_**MOVE IT!" **_The rest of the animals continued with Julien's singing as they celebrated their victory.

"Heh, this is why the lemurs allow Julien to be king; he organizes great parties!" Norbert chuckled while talking with Lila and company minus Chuckie, who was dancing with Angelica.

"Yeah, guess it's hard to stay angry with this guy when his main motivation is to see everyone having fun." Jimmy admitted; he was enjoying the party too, even if also being a bit wary as he was surrounded by hay-eating animals.

"Well, I'm ever so glad you guys got rid of your enemy without actually needing to kill him." Lila said in relief. She had seen enough capital punishment in this land to never want to see it again.

"Hey, what kind of animals you think we are?" Norbert grinned at her.

"Uh, well, you and I are beavers, Angelica is a tigress, Julien is a lemur…" Dagget got cut by Norbert placing a hand on his mouth.

"Rhetorical question, Dagga-gnorant." Norbert rolled his eyes. "What I mean is, we, the animals, usually don't kill by pleasure; even the predators only kill to survive, and if we can live without El Mal Verde without needing to eliminate the guy, is good enough."

"Fair enough." Jenny commented before looking back at Chuckie and Angelica. "Mmmm… and I think I'm learning how to recognize romance when seeing it. Those two seem to be getting very close."

"No, they'll get close when they dance a slow song." Dagget said.

"Mmm… Daggaroni, we need to have the birds and the bees' talk again?" Norbert smirked at him.

"Ugh, no, I don't like to talk to the bees; but I'll go talk to the birds, just to see what are you talking about." Dagget shrugged and left while Norbert sighed.

"And this is when I wish we beavers didn't always get born in pairs."

A while later, during a pause in the dancing, Julien and Angelica made an announcement, both of them getting at Chuckie's sides.

"And now, we, and by we I mean 'I', myself, and yes, the rest of you..." Julien said in his usual wacky and proud tone.

"Julien, to the point." Angelica frowned.

"Okay, okay… ehem… since we are all very, very thankful for your contri… contra… contrab… help at getting rid of the monster that used to feast on us, we, the animals, wanna offer you the job of…"

"King of the animals." Angelica announced.

"Eh, yes... minus the lemurs; that's my job." Julien grinned.

"Y-you mean it?" Chuckie was more than a bit surprised, especially when all the other animals seemed to agree with Angelica and Julien.

"Of course; you deserve it, and not just for being a lion. You're brave, smart, helpful, caring, strong, protective, and, for a lion who wears glasses, you don't look bad at all..." Angelica blushed a bit at the end. "Uh… okay, I said too much. Great, I'm becoming another Julien."

"Heh… well…" Chuckie then looked back at his friends, all of them smiling at him, before talking back at the animals. "Considering I'm already close to the Western Lands' ruler, and Emerald City's co-ruler, guess I can complete the trio so we can all be work colleagues."

The animals cheered wildly (of course, that was the only way they knew how to cheer) while Julien donated one of his extra crowns to make Chuckie's title official, Angelica crowning the lion while Julien made the 'official speech'.

"And now, by the authority given to me by… myself… and the Law of The Jungle, The Law of Popular Demand, and The Law of Grabity... because I had to make Maurice grab a crown from my personal bunch and give it to me for this to work… I, King Julien, proclaim you Chuckie The First, King of The Animals That Aren't Lemurs!"

"And speeches like that one are among the many reasons we needed a new king." Angelica whispered at Chuckie, who chuckled back at her before the celebration continued.

The next day, very early in the morning, the group let the forest and went to open field. Chuckie explained that he'd need to be away from his 'kingdom' until Lila could return home, and left Angelica in charge of everything until his return, something the other animals didn't object at all, since the tigress was already an authority figure.

"So, you're not gonna use your crown?" Lila asked Chuckie as they continued walking and the lion handled her the crown.

"Not for now; it's not very practical for a long journey, and besides, who am I gonna impress? You guys are my friends, and, king or not, I wouldn't see myself as your superior." Chuckie explained while Lila put the crown inside her magical basket.

"Well, you all are ever so important figures now..." Lila commented while Jenny politely interrupted her.

"Yes, but we all started this journey together, and nobody was exactly a very high, important figure until we joined you, Lila."

"Jenny is right. So, just like Chuckie here doesn't see himself as our superior, you, Lila, must never think yourself as our subordinate." Jimmy added. "After all, not so long ago, I was just a straw dummy who wasn't even that good at his job."

Lila chuckled a bit at this and smiled at her friends as they continued walking. This part of the journey was pretty uneventful, and Jimmy even had time to make a few notes on his map, that now included Chuckie's kingdom as well; Jimmy also used this chance to make some official credentials for the lion, that would help legitimize his authority with any other ruler, even if, at this point, it seemed most of Nick was being ruled by either a teammate or a benevolent being. Unfortunately, they were about to find one of the few exceptions.

Earlier that morning, before leaving the animals' forest, Chuckie had asked them for directions to arrive faster at Susie's lands. The birds told him about a shortcut, but also that the people living there weren't exactly friendly, and they didn't even like animals, including small, flying ones like most birds, to 'invade' their lands, and because of this the animals couldn't give much info on how these people was and how to deal with them, just like their homeland was pretty dull and sterile, to the point there was nothing that could interest any animal to be there anyway.

After walking for some hours, the group arrived at the lands the birds' described, realizing they weren't exaggerating. The earth was completely gray and without any plant, not even grass, visible for miles away, and when they finally found the inhabitants' homes, they were shaped as plain, gray boxes.

"Whoa. Wonder who can live in a place like this." Lila said, looking around and feeling very uncomfortable: even the western dry lands were lively compared with this.

In a perfect cue, several small flying humanoid beings appeared in front of the group; they were about the same size as the anti-fairies, but they were dressed in gray suits, that reminded Lila of bureaucrats from some government's office. Also, their heads were big and block-shaped, completely flat on top, and wearing gray cone-shaped hats; plus, they all wore black shades, and while anti-fairies had several females among their lines, all of these creatures seemed to be male.

"Stop right there. You're invading Pixie Territory." One of them talked in a particularly dull and deep tone.

"We don't want to invade. We're just passing by." Jimmy informed him.

"We have laws against 'passing by'. Plus, we don't like people dressed like you do."

"Well, sorry, we didn't know you were the fashion police." Jenny rolled her eyes.

"Sarcasm." The first pixie, despite not changing his expression or tone, seemed a bit upset now.

"That's close to humor." Another pixie added while the others nodded.

"Humor is forbidden here."

"Fine, we get it, you like gray and dull stuff..." Chuckie was interrupted by the first pixie.

"We call it 'dull and gray' due to alphabetical order, but you guessed correctly. Now, leave before we make you."

Jenny and Chuckie were ready to start beating up some pixies, but Jimmy stopped them while Lila grabbed Spunky, the little dog already growling at the dull creatures.

"Wait, guys, these people seem to have magical powers, and we don't wanna start a fight." Jimmy said to his friends.

"Jimmy's ever-so right. Besides, this is their home, and, technically, they're right; very rude, no doubt, but right no less, since they have the final word on letting us pass by or not." Lila reminded them as well. At that moment, however, Lila's forehead started glowing, revealing Maria's blessing to the pixies.

"Mmm... this is unexpected." A pixie said.

"Better call H.P. now." Another pixie added.

"H.P.?" Chuckie asked.

"Head Pixie. Our wise and severe leader." The first pixie said while he and his companions took out their magical devices, that looked a lot like cell phones (much to Lila's puzzlement), and a moment later, another pixie, much larger than the others, appeared in front of them, making a 'ping' sound when materializing; besides being larger, his head was also bigger and cone-shaped instead of being blocky, and wore normal glasses instead of shades, plus looking older than the other pixies, as he had white hair and an 'old grandpa' look-like face while the other pixies were all black-haired and with stern and younger expressions. He immediately addressed the first pixie, who seemed to be his second in command.

"Why you called me, Sanderson?" H.P., like the other pixies, had a dull voice; he then noticed the newcomers. "And why are these intruders here? They should be gone no less than one minute after they arrived."

"I'm sorry, Sir, but the girl seems to be a special case. She has the blessing of Maria, The Good Witch of The North."

H.P. floated closer to Lila, who made a little, respectful bow at him. The head pixie nodded at the redhead and then looked at her forehead.

"I see. Well, obviously, this means we can't dispose of you in a painful or humiliating way, so, we'll give you two minutes to leave in peace. Oh, and take your little circus with you."

"We're not a circus. And we don't want any problems with you." Chuckie frowned.

"My friend is right. We're on our way to visit Good Witch Susie, and, of course, your land is in the middle, so, we'll be ever-so-thankful if you allow us free pass." Lila said in her usual polite way.

"The thing is, we don't like intruders, specially those who arrive unannounced." H.P. replied.

"Well, considering you pixies aren't very... nice to others, it would be pointless to send a messenger to tell you we're coming, specially if you kick him/her out of your land less than one minute after the arrival." Jimmy pointed out.

"Mmm... a valid point. Okay, we might allow you to pass, if you do the proper paperwork." H.P. then nodded at Sanderson. A moment later, the pixies 'pinged' a mountain of bureaucratic papers.

"Whoa... these are the documents we must fill in order to pass by your lands?" Jenny, like her friends, wide opened her eyes at this.

"No. These are just the forms you have to fill in order to ask for the documents to pass by our lands." H.P. informed them. "Each paper needs ten copies, and then you have to wait for 2 to 3 weeks before knowing if your petition is accepted."

"No wonder nobody ever goes or comes from Susie's lands." Chuckie commented while grabbing one of the papers. "Uh… '_write the maiden name of your third grade Math teacher_'?"

"That's one of page two's questions; it get a bit harder from there." Sanderson informed him.

"Well, I didn't want to use this, but..." Jimmy took out some of his own documents. "We have diplomatic immunity. If you'll allow me to introduce myself the first, I'm Jimmy The Scarecrow, new co-ruler of Emerald City, selected by The Wizard of Nick himself before he left."

"The Wizard is gone? And he left you in charge?" H.P., for the first time since he appeared, actually displayed some emotion, wide opening his eyes in surprise, while the other pixies actually gasped. Sanderson gave a look to Jimmy's papers and nodded at his boss.

"He's telling the truth, Sir. These are official papers."

"I can see that, Sanderson, but I'm curious about why I wasn't informed about something as important as The Wizard leaving his city and the naming of his successor." H.P. actually frowned this time.

"One moment, Sir." Sanderson looked at Jimmy. "Excuse me, Sir, but, when The Wizard left, was there any party or some other celebration?"

"Well, it obviously was a special occasion." Jimmy shrugged.

"So, that's why we didn't know, Sir. This event produced a celebration, a 'joyful' moment, so we ignored it as we do with anything that can be remotely funny." Sanderson told his boss.

"I can see that. Okay, Mister Scarecrow, it's obvious you and the redhead girl are somewhat important, but we still can't let you pass without doing the paperwork."

"Excuse me, Sir, but, there are no exceptions, loopholes or something?" Lila asked him.

"Mmm… yes, we have one. We'll allow free pass through our lands if, and only if, we get the signatures of four different kings, queens or overall rulers in this document." H.P. pinged a large contract. "But good luck getting the signatures. Obviously you have Emerald City's regent here, and he can sign, and maybe you, Miss, can get The North's Good Witch to sign too, but the other rulers are either evil ones who will never sign, or The South's Witch… and we all know you can't get to her without getting past us first, and... why are you all smirking?"

The whole group, even Spunky, was grinning slightly now. Jimmy took out the rest of his documents, and Lila handled Chuckie his crown. H.P. and Sanderson read the papers and got visibly surprised.

"We REALLY should start paying attention to parties, Sir, specially those made to celebrate someone becoming a ruler." Sanderson suggested.

"Indeed; still, this only means you'll have three signatures for the contract. You still need one more." H.P. pointed out. Chuckie smiled, cleared his throat and roared loudly; before the pixies could ask why he did that, several birds arrived, answering their king's call.

"Guys, I need you all to bring someone here."

"I can't believe you actually got a fourth sign… especially HIS sign." H.P. resisted the urge to groan as King Julien, who had arrived riding an eagle, signed the contract.

"Ah, signing an important paper; a very royal work to do." Julien grinned when cleaning up his paw; as he didn't know how to write, his 'signature' was just a paw print, yet still acceptable. "I see we did a good job when asking you to be the King Of The Animals That Aren't Lemurs, Chuckie… uh… I can still call you Chuckie, right? Or you want to be called King Chuck; Your Chuckiesty; Cat King..?"

"Just 'Chuckie' will be more than fine, Julien; we're both equals, right?" Chuckie said to the lemur, grinning a bit while Jimmy and Jenny signed as well, and Lila petted Spunky, the girl's forehead no longer glowing.

"Ah, good point. Well, I have to get back to my kingdom; and you hurry up with your royal visit too, because the other animals need their king. So long, blocky-butted people!" Julien waved bye at the pixies while getting back on the eagle's back and flying back to the forest.

"And he's considered a king; imagine how's my self-esteem in this moment." H.P. groaned slightly.

"Don't feel so bad; after all, you can't break your own rules, right?" Jimmy said to the head pixie.

"Actually, I can, but that would require too much paperwork, even for me." H.P. got back to his dull voice. "Okay, you can go ahead. We'll not stop you..."

"And you won't stop anyone else." Jenny grinned, surprising the pixies. "I have a very good eye for details."

To illustrate her point, Jenny removed her right eye and put it in front of the contract.

"And this eye can read the fine print that says this is a permanent contract, so now you'll allow any non-hostile traveler to get pass the Pixie Lands."

"Seriously, why you added that clause?" Lila asked the pixies.

"Getting the four signatures was pretty much impossible, or so we thought, so we added some clauses to the contract that made it more attractive to anyone wanting to sign it, so he or she would get even more frustrated when not being able to do it." Sanderson informed.

"Gee, you guys are the ones who really need a heart." Jenny said while placing her eye back in place. "Oh, and I also read the 'casual Friday' clause."

H.P. sighed and the pixies pinged their outfits, replacing them with bathing suits, ballerina outfits, bathrobes and clown disguises.

"I'm sure you find this funny." H.P., in a bathing suit, frowned slightly.

"Yes, we do." Chuckie chuckled a bit as he and the rest of the group waved bye to the pixies and continued with their journey.

The rest of the trip was very uneventful, and in fact, once leaving the pixies' domains, the field became very nice and lively. Soon, the group starting spotting some farms and rural houses, meaning that, if this place worked similarly to Emerald City, they were getting close to whatever city or palace Susie resided. Unlike the people living around Emerald City, however, these farmers kept their distance from the newcomers and actually seemed to be a bit worried.

"You think they fear all of us or just me?" Chuckie asked Jimmy, remembering how most people tended to fear a lion unless getting to know it well... and without the lion trying to eat them.

"I think they might fear all of us." Jimmy commented. "Remember the pixies don't allow anyone, from any species, to get past their territory, or at least, didn't do until today, something these people obviously don't know."

"You're ever so right, Jimmy. They aren't used to anyone visiting this place." Lila agreed with the scarecrow.

"Hey, look, what's that?" Jenny pointed at the distance, and the group looked up, seeing a teen dark-skinned girl, with an orange headband holding her very long black hair, and wearing a tight red and black outfit approaching them in what seemed to be a metallic board. She stopped in front of the group, frowning at them, and hovering at a low height.

"Okay, now, don't move, and state who are you and what are you doing here." The girl had a very authoritarian tone, and Jimmy deduced she had to be the equivalent to a soldier or guard in this place.

"We come in peace to seek an audience with Susie, The Good Witch of The South." Jimmy handled her their papers while pointing at Lila. "Our friend is a protege of Mrs Maria, The Good Witch of The North, and she came from a very far away land looking for Susie's assistance."

The girl looked at the papers, realizing they were legit, and then looked at Lila, wide opening her eyes when her forehead revealed the blessing mark. The girl nodded and gave the papers back to Jimmy.

"I apologize if I offended you, Sir, but we rarely get any visitor here, and the pixies aren't exactly good neighbors, so I have my doubts about anyone they actually allow to get past their lands." The girl jumped down the board, that disappeared almost instantly, and saluted the group. "Valerie Gray, First Class Security and Ninth Grade Combat Expert. It's a honor to meet you all."

"We're honored as well." Jimmy and the others saluted Valerie as well; even Spunky tried a very clumsy salute. "And don't worry, we already were discussing exactly that, and why people keep their distance from us."

"Well, now that we've cleared that, please, allow me to escort you to Miss Susie's palace." Valerie smiled at the group and dropped the salute. After thanking her, and Lila's forehead returning to normal, they all got back to walking, with Valerie on the lead. This time, due to having a very high-rank and well known local authority figure with them, the farmers started warming up to the group, many of them approaching to say 'Hello' and also to get a good look on the newcomers, as very few people here had seen a lion before, and obviously none had seen a walking scarecrow or a metal girl.

After a while, they finally arrived at the palace, with a stern looking guard opening the door for them. Like Valerie, she was dark-skinned, but much less impressive, physically speaking, as she was both much shorter and very lean. Also, like Valerie, she had very long black hair, but kept it in a ponytail.

"Gee, bringing uninvited guests? Not your style, Val."

"Receiving me with a sour look? Very your style, Miranda." Valerie rolled her eyes.

"Not very sociable, uh?" Jenny asked Valerie as they all got past the door.

"Yeah, but she does a good job guarding the door. Still, Miss Susie knows Miranda isn't exactly kind, but she also knows she wanted to be a guard, so gave her a job where she has little interaction with others while still having a moderate power position." Valerie explained them. "In these lands, most of the soldiers are females, even if both genders work mostly as equals. Heh, guess that being ruled by a female gives us a very good 'girl power' image we all like emulating."

Valerie told some servants to please go call Susie while she gave the group a little guided tour through the palace while taking them to the main room where the Good Witch would receive them. Almost right after entering the room, a large, blue bubble appeared from thin air, and landed in the middle of the room; a moment later, it popped, revealing a gentle looking dark-skinned girl, wearing an elegant blue and red dress and a little tiara; her hair was in long braids, and, unlike Valerie or Miranda's, it was a very dark brown instead of black.

"Welcome. It's a pleasure to have visits. I'm Susie, the Witch of The South." Susie smiled at the group while they respectfully bowed at her. Susie's voice was very kind and melodious, and Lila thought it would be perfect for a professional singer.

"Thanks for receiving us, Miss Susie... and, excuse me for asking, but do all the girls in this castle have similar voices?" Jimmy asked, earning himself a chuckle from the witch. As he pointed out, Susie's voice was very similar to Valerie and Miranda's, just with a much nicer, melodic tone.

"You're not the first one who asks me that." Susie said while leading them to another room. "Please, join us for dinner. We can discuss why you came here while we eat."

Lila was more than a bit surprised when realizing Susie, despite being this land's ruler, actually shared the table and ate along with pretty much the whole staff working at the castle; even Valerie and Miranda (the later arriving a few minutes later) had their own seats. As Susie explained, they didn't have too many visitors, and the whole staff spent so much time around the witch that she considered them all close friends; also, usually, the workers' children would seat right aside Susie, but this time, since she had to attend her guests, they got the honor seats aside to her own. The good witch also used more of her magical bubbles to bring the meals to the table and retire the dirty dishes, so even the kitchen's staff could sit at the table and eat along with everyone else.

The dinner was pretty nice and amicable, with everyone at the table listening at the group narrating their adventures; of course, Jimmy and Jenny, who didn't need to eat, were the ones telling the most, while Lila, Chuckie, and Spunky (who was eating from a bowl aside the table) continued with their meals. Once the dinner was over, most of the people left so Susie could talk with the newcomers in relative privacy.

"You all had done very good things for Nick." Susie commented. "And yes, Lila, I'll be glad to help you return home."

"Oh, I'm ever so-thankful, Miss Susie!" Lila beamed. "You really do have a spell to help me return to Hillwood?"

"Well, before that, I have a few questions for you all. Basically, once Lila... and Spunky, of course… leave, what will you do?" Susie now addressed Jimmy, Jenny and Chuckie.

"As we already told you, I'm currently Emerald City's co-ruler. Once Lila and Spunky are gone, I'll get back there and direct the city along with Cindy, The Wizard's protege." Jimmy replied. The scarecrow, as well as the rest of his group, was still protecting Otis' image as the 'Wizard', out of gratitude for the bull's help.

"And I'll go to the Western Lands; people there liked me enough to elect me their ruler. And I plan on doing some improvements; Vicky really made things hard for them for a very long time. For starters, I want to make a road from the Western Lands to Emerald City."

"Yes, we want all of Nick's towns and lands to be 'connected', and be allies to each other... including you and your people, of course, Miss Susie." Chuckie added. "I'm also returning to that large forest we found on our way here, where the animals elected me their king."

"And I'll be glad to cooperate. And I'm more than thankful that you guys managed to sign that contract with the pixies; I've tried that for years, but the most we ever accomplished was a non-aggression pact." Susie smiled before looking back at Lila. "As for your request, Lila, well, I have two news for you; a good and a bad one."

"Okaaaay... can you please tell me the bad news first, so the good one can cheer me up?"

"Sure. The bad one is that I don't have the powers to send you home."

Lila sighed sadly at this.

"The good news is, you already have the means to return home."

"**Excuse me?"** Lila and her friends chorused at once; Spunky, being speechless, only dropped his jaw in surprise.

"Yes. You see, one of my powers is that I can sense what a magical device or artifact can do. And I sense that your slippers, formerly Sartana's, have teleportation abilities. You only need to know the spell to activate them, and that's another power of mine. Just give me a few minutes and I'll discover how to use the slippers' magic."

Lila was beaming now, as well as her friends, when she realized something.

"Wait… you mean… I could have returned home the very same moment I put on the slippers?"

"Yes, if you had known the spell." Susie shrugged. "But see it this way; if you had returned home that easily and so soon..."

"I'd still be at the corn field." Jimmy grinned.

"And I'd still be a metal statue." Jenny pointed out.

"And I'd still be a scaredy cat." Chuckie chuckled.

"And all the good things that came after that, wouldn't have happened. Thanks to you all, most of Nick's lands have benevolent rulers now; the pixies will not longer keep my land isolated from the rest of Nick; and El Mal Verde is no longer terrorizing the animals… you get my point." Susie chuckled.

"Yes, you're right. So, now I can leave knowing my friends will live in an ever-so much better place than when I arrived." Lila smiled before getting a bit thoughtful. "Mmm... but, you need some payment for this? I mean, The Wizard asked us to get rid of Vicky."

"Well, your services were already a good payment; but, I have an idea. You said you have the golden cap with you, right?"

Lila nodded and took the cap out of her basket, giving it to Susie.

"Thanks. If you agree, I'll conserve the cap. I already know what to wish for." Susie held the cap in her hands, already learning how to use its magic. "My first wish will be asking the pixies to take Jimmy back to Emerald City; the second one will be to take Jenny to the Western Lands; and the third one..."

"Uh, Miss Susie, if you excuse me." Chuckie interrupted her. "I can guess what you're gonna say, and I appreciate it, but my… well, my kingdom isn't that far from here, so I can return there with ease. Still, if you are being this generous… can you please ask the pixies to check on El Mal Verde? I know he's trapped in that valley and all, but I'd feel a bit safer if he was as some more comfortable place yet still somewhere he can't threaten the animals again."

"Ah, that's a very nice use for the third wish, Chuckie. And sure, I can do that." Susie smiled. "Then, after using the three wishes, I'll put the cap somewhere safe, and if the anti-fairies are needed again, I'll give it to someone responsible who can make good use of its powers."

The group smiled back, as this confirmed that Susie certainly was both a good witch and a smart one. Susie then focused her attention on Lila's slippers, trying to find out the right spell to use them.

"Mmm… '_Bibidi-Babidi-Boo'… _No… '_Wingardium Leviosa'… _No… '_Azarath, Metrion...'… _Definitely no!" Susie now was making a very visible effort before beaming. "Got it!"

"It's not '_Shazam', _right?" Lila giggled a bit.

"Heh, no, it's not. You have to think about your destination, and then say '_There's no place like home'_ three times, while you tap your ankles together; then you give three steps, and you'll get transported to anyplace you want."

"Thanks, Miss Susie." Lila, very happy, hugged Susie before turning back at her friends... and they all got small smiles.

"So… this is it, uh?" Jimmy sighed. "Thanks again, Lila...and take care, please."

"Yeah... I'm gonna miss you all. A lot. Tell Cindy I said 'Good-Bye', please, you, super smart guy." Lila hugged the scarecrow, who nodded and hugged her back. Then, the redhead approached Jenny.

"Heh… yeah… now I know what a broken heart feels like… but I'm also so happy for you." Jenny and Lila embraced, the metal girl being careful to not hurting her friend. "And, Lila, when you see your dad… give him the nicest, biggest, tightest hug you can."

"I will, Jenny; and thanks again. You have a good heart... to me, you always had it." Lila was now washing away some tears before turning at Chuckie.

"Guess I'm still not over… my phobia of saying good-bye…" Chuckie sighed before he and Lila embraced as well. "Okay… this helps. Take care, Lila."

"You too... King Chuckie." Lila smiled. "The animals are ever-so lucky for having you as their king, as much as I was for meeting you."

Spunky then yapped at the group, and Jimmy, Jenny and Chuckie, chuckling, went to pet the dog.

"Yes, Spunky, we'll miss you too." Jenny chuckled.

"Yeah, we all shared the dangers, the laughs.."

"... the fleas..." Chuckie interrupted Jimmy; the lion then chuckled. "Heh, sorry, that was just Spunky and I."

After sharing a final laugh, Lila separated from the group and held Spunky on her arms. She then gave her magical basket to Chuckie.

"I think the animals will appreciate having an ever-so unlimited source of food... plus, this way, they'll not need to eat each other."

"Heh, thanks, Lila… this will mess with the food chain, but hey, it's a good way to start my ruling. Besides, my crown is inside here." Chuckie chuckled while holding the basket.

Lila shook her head, smiling, and, after thanking Susie one last time, she tapped her ankles together three times.

"_There's no place like home. There's no place like home. There's no place like home."_

Lila walked two steps.

At the third one... she and Spunky were gone.

**X-X-X-X-X-X-X**

(And only one chapter left. Thanks to you all who have read the story so far.)

(Now, as usual, the notes for this chapter. First, Huu, the plant-manipulator, is from 'Avatar, The Last Airbender'; he was included to justify the attacking plants, that are present in the original 'Wizard of Oz' story as The Fighting Trees.)

(The many animals that appear in the story are also a reference to the original story, where the Cowardly Lion really becomes their king. We have The Angry Beavers, Dagget and Norbert; several characters from 'The Penguins of Madagascar', like King Julien, Maurice, Mort, Burt - the elephant-, Fred -the squirrel-, Phil and Mason -the chimpanzees-, Bada and Bing -the gorillas-, Becky and Stacy -the badgers- and Kitka, the peregrine falcon. Also, Angelica Pickles, from 'Rugrats/All Grown Up' appears as a tigress since, in the original book, it's a tiger who has the most interaction with the Cowardly Lion as he becomes king. And, of course, El Mal Verde, from 'El Tigre, The Adventures of Manny Rivera', plays the role of a giant, monstrous spider that the Cowardly Lion eliminates to become king. Of course, we expanded those scenes.)

(The pixies, from 'Fairly Oddparents', including H.P. and Sanderson, take the role of the Hammer Heads, who, in the original book, are the last obstacle the group faces before getting to the Good Witch's lands. Also, in the book, the Hammer Heads can't be defeated in direct combat due to them using their heads as weapons and having the strength in numbers, so Dorothy and her friends evade them instead by using her last wish from the Golden Cap. Since in this story Lila already used the 3 wishes, the pixies are also handled in a non-violent way.)

(And, of course, Susie is from 'Rugrats/All Grown Up' as well; her two named servants in this story are Valerie Grey, from 'Danny Phantom', and Miranda Killgallen, from 'As Told by Ginger'. Also, as it's pointed out in the story, the three characters are voiced by Cree Summer.)

(Finally, the story also has nods to other series, books and movies, including non-Nickelodeon ones, like Disney's 'Cinderella', the Harry Potter books, and DC Comics' Captain Marvel and Teen Titans.)

(Only one chapter left. Thanks again to all those reading and enjoying this story so far.)


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